


we just met (but i think i'm falling for you)

by tarantism



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Comedy, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romance, blind dating, non idolverse, past mingsol/verhao whatever the ship name is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 13:13:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9073180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tarantism/pseuds/tarantism
Summary: in which minghao's life is loveless, and his friends think blind dates are the answer.





	1. one.

“Your problem is that you’re too frigid,” Junhui said bluntly, tapping his chopsticks on the side of his bowl as Minghao twirled some more noodles around his own cutlery.

The brunette tilted his head and narrowed his eyes in a slight glare at his friend, sitting diagonally across from him in the restaurant. Junhui barely flinched, a sign that he had grown too accustomed to that look, Minghao thought as he opened his mouth to bite back at him.

“He’s right, Minghao. You can’t use the excuse that you’re bad at the language anymore—you’ve just got a hell of a bad temper. I’ve found that having regular relations not only improves my mood, but also my general outlook on life and people. Of course, not everyone can be quite on par with me and my relationship, but I’m still yet to meet any healthy couple whose mood hasn’t been improved because of their partnership.” Jeonghan raised an eyebrow, his thin finger twirling the straw in his drink slowly. “Your short, habitual outbursts aren’t amusing anymore, especially not to potential significant others.”

Minghao tore his eyes away from Junhui, glaring at the other two guys sitting around their table before moving his gaze to his food. How on earth their regular Friday night meet up had gone from talking about the thriving of Soonyoung’s dance studio to his (lacklustre) dating life, he didn’t know, but he decided it was best to just remain focused on his food.

“No need to brag about you and Jisoo, Jeonghan.” Soonyoung chuckled, food still in his mouth. “You have to admit Hao’s attitude was amusing to begin with; like when he used to get really angry but not be able to say what it was in Korean—that was hilarious. But yeah, now it’s just not fun. You can be really scary sometimes.”

“I’m perfectly fine and happy, thank you very much.” Minghao interjected, still twirling the same noodles around in his chopsticks with little avail. He could feel the piteous gazes of his friends boring into him, and if there was one thing he didn’t need, it was pity.

Feeling Soonyoung’s arm wrap around his shoulder from the seat beside him, Minghao sighed and glanced up so he was face-to-face with one of his closest friends. “You haven’t been completely fine since that asshole moved back to America and broke your heart. You just need to let yourself go a little, smile more, be friendly and get back out there to find someone better than him.”

“He didn’t mean to break my heart… he moved back there because of his family and I—”

“And nothing.” Jeonghan stopped him mid-sentence, catching Minghao off guard, eyes wide. “Don’t even finish that sentence. You were just settling for him. I don’t care if he did or didn’t mean to hurt you, but he did. You can do _better_ , Minghao. Trust me.”

The brunette froze, only looking between his three friends around him, suddenly the centre of attention. The words sunk into his brain and he began to process what the Jeonghan had said; maybe he was just settling for Hansol… When Minghao thought about it, the boy had been the first guy to ever show an interest in him after he moved from Anshan to Seoul to study and pursue a job there. He had never been in a relationship before, too busy trying to better himself to ever find the time to date or even kiss another boy; having the attention of a kind, extremely handsome guy for the first time in his life had been a surprise and what he _thought_ he wanted.

The whole ordeal hadn’t been as bad as his friends were making it out to be, Minghao thought. Hansol was a nice guy, slightly shorter than him as well as a year younger, with dyed dirty blonde hair and the sweetest gummy smile he had ever seen. Minghao had fallen for him eventually, had even planned to return back home to China with him to meet his family. Then, of course, Hansol just had to break the news that he was leaving Seoul to live in Florida to be closer to family, and that he wasn’t coming back. The news had hurt him pretty badly, despite only being with him for a few short months; a first big heartbreak lasts, he thought.

Now, sat with his friends five years later at the age of twenty-four, Minghao was certainly over the pain, but not necessarily the loneliness. It wasn’t that he was perpetually lonely—he had his friends, of course, and his job teaching hip-hop and martial arts at Soonyoung’s popular studio, which took up the majority of his time. It was just that little bit more he longed for in his private life—a feeling much like what he experienced during his last relationship—and he tried to bury it deep down inside him in the hopes if he ignored it long enough, that it would go away. The occasional one night stand was one thing, but the brunette knew he wanted more even if he did constantly reject the help from his friends in setting him up.

His life was at a point where Minghao could say he was content. Sure, he wasn’t in a serious relationship with anyone, and the whole dating scene had never picked back up since Hansol left and he had been hired by Soonyoung, despite dedicating the majority of his free time to improving his Korean; he now realised that his ex had been a huge reason for not really trying to find someone new. He let his temper reign as the fear of losing anyone bubbled inside of him. But, despite putting on the façade, the brunette’s friends could tell it was just that—a mask.

“You really think I can find someone better than him?” Minghao sighed, finally placing his food in his mouth as his friends sat, wide-eyed in shock at the boy’s acknowledgement of their words.

Junhui tutted, rolling his eyes with a shake of his dirty-blonde head as Soonyoung’s hand tightened its grip on the brunette’s shoulder. “Of course you can. That’s what we keep telling you before you get all worked up and start protesting. If you just listened to what we say for once, we can help you—especially since we know you’re not as happy as you say you are. We’re your friends, Hao. Let us help you.”

“There’s only one thing to do.” Junhui smirked, picking up his beverage to take a long drink.

“Oh no, Jun has a plan.” Jeonghan raised his eyebrows, tucking his long hair behind his ear. _Oh no_ was the correct statement, Minghao thought. Most of Wen Junhui’s ideas were over the top and embarrassing and just horrific. He prayed this one was different. “What are you thinking?”

“Blind dating!”

Just as he thought. _Horrible_ idea.

“No way.” Minghao immediately shook his head, face blushing even at the mere thought of sitting at a bar with a complete stranger with their sheer intention being to get him into bed. “Not a chance.”

“For once, I actually like this idea.” Jeonghan nodded and Soonyoung removed his arm from Minghao to rub at his slightly stubbly chin. “You need to find a guy, Minghao! How the hell are going to find a date if you don’t get out there and actually meet and speak to them?” 

Opening his mouth to protest once more, Minghao was cut off by Soonyoung grabbing his beer, thrusting the bottle into the air. “I agree. And, I actually have a guy in mind that might be interested. I’ll text you his number—he’s really sweet and—”

“What part of me saying ‘not a chance’ did you not understand?” Minghao raised his voice, despite the restaurant being extremely busy, people sat all around them now able to hear the brunette half-yelling. 

“And there’s the short temper, right on cue.” Jeonghan threw his hands up in the air before grabbing his own drink to sip on.

“Listen, Minghao.” Soonyoung quickly cut in before their group made a bigger scene. Minghao took a deep breath and sunk down in his chair, turning to listen to his friend and quell his anger. “We really just want to help. We’re your friends—we want you to be happy because you deserve it. Of course you do. What’s the harm of going on a few dates with some guys that we know, to give you a head start in finding the right one?”

A snort came from Jun as he swallowed another mouthful of his food. “It’s just a date, Soonyoung. ‘Right one’, please. It’s not like you have to marry them, HaoHao—” Minghao clenched his jaw and glared at his best friend for using the nickname he hated. “Sorry. Minghao.”

“Please, let us do this for you.” Soonyoung reiterated and Minghao bit his lip in thought. On one hand, he could carry on as he was, perfectly fine to keep himself busy with work and studying, but on the other he began to think, what was the harm in trying a few dates with the guys his friends approved? Sure, his friends’ taste in their romantic partners was… questionable to say the least; still, he had to try, right? Jeonghan, of all people, did manage to find himself in a healthy, loving relationship, after all—and Jisoo was so lovely he often wondered what on earth his friend did to win his heart. But whatever it was, it worked, and that gave him the tiniest spark of hope in his friend. 

“Okay.” The brunette found himself saying, voice small but still loud enough for them to hear. The words caused the boys' mouths to fall open, gaping at Minghao. “I’m sure I’m going to regret this, but okay.”

“Have you been accidently drinking Jeonghan’s cocktail?” Junhui found himself laughing in disbelief, the others joining in soon after. Minghao tried to hold back a smile, shaking his head. “Well, we promise you that we’ll find the most suitable guys for you to go out with.”

“We should each pick two guys each, that way there’s some variety and more of a chance of finding someone for him.” Jeonghan placed some food into his mouth, earning the nods of Junhui and Soonyoung.

“Two guys each? Are you sure that’s really necessary?” Minghao flushed red, anxiety suddenly playing at his mind, accent making his voice sound shaky. 

“Trust us, Minghao!” Jun reached across the table, placing his hand on top of the brunette’s. “We’re trying to get your love life started. Don’t back out on us, it will be fine.” 

“Let’s turn our regular Friday meet-ups into your date day and we'll have dinner on a Monday to discuss and brighten the start to our weeks,” Soonyoung chimed in, eyes crinkling as he smiled a toothy grin, excited at the prospect of what they were planning. “One date a week, interchanging between our choices; unless you hit it off with one of the guys, and then away you fly little birdy. Our mission will be complete.”

“I like it.” Jun nodded.

“I call first date dibs!” Jeonghan sang, tossing his long hair dramatically, smiling as if he’d won the lottery. Minghao didn’t know if he liked the idea of Jeonghan’s choice being first; he didn’t know if he liked the idea of any of his friends’ choices being first. The others groaned and started protesting with Jeonghan, stating the reasons as to why their date should be first until Minghao cleared his throat. 

“I am still here, you know?” He spoke up, regaining the attention of his three friends. “I’m not going to pretend that I love this idea, but I did agree to it and am going against everything I stand for just to go along with it; just, please do me one favour—don’t choose any creeps, okay?” 

A choral gasp escaped the boys’ lips as they dramatically reacted to Minghao’s comment. Soonyoung placed a hand on his chest; Junhui tutted and Jeonghan shook his head. 

“I can’t believe you would think we would ever even consider setting you up with anyone like that,” Soonyoung pouted. “Do you really think that low of us?”

 “Do you really want me to answer that?” Minghao raised his eyebrows. 

“We solemnly swear the guys we choose will be carefully selected to suit you.” Jeonghan tried to reassure him, smirk forming on his face. “So, Xu Minghao, prepare yourself to be dazzled.” 

“Prepare to get laid,” Junhui grinned, raising his eyebrows, tongue pushing at the inside of his cheek before letting out a small yelp as Soonyoung kicked him under the table. Minghao’s blush didn’t subside, but he couldn’t feel himself wanting to bicker with his friends. He knew they really did want to help him, to make him feel happy, and he appreciated it. They were his closest friends and had helped him out with so much, from language confusion to lending him money for the rent.

He was sure, despite his underlying anxieties, if anyone could help him find the right guy, it was Soonyoung, Jeonghan and Junhui.

What a weird thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed the kind of pre-setting to this new story i'm writing. i'm hoping it's going to be a mix of a lot of themes from angst to fluff to humour to who knows what--you'll just have to stick around and see.
> 
> my old ao3 account got deleted in a mix up involving a friend and an argument and some other stuff i won't go into, but i used to be hoseoks (tarantism) if any of you know :/// anyway i hope i can keep bringing you stories on this new acc that you enjoy and know i appreciate everyone that reads, comments and leaves kudos on any of my stories!
> 
> ((hopefully i can recover some of my old writing that was lost from before and republish them ugh))


	2. two.

When the boys put their mind to it, they could accomplish almost anything in a short period of time; so when Minghao received the text from Junhui that he, Jeonghan and Soonyoung had sorted out all the odds and ends of the scheme just a week after their proposal, he wasn’t really surprised. Soonyoung, after much protest from the others, had apparently won the draw of who goes first in finding a date, and he gave Minghao one of the phone numbers of an old college friend he had met in an arts class.

His name was Seungkwan and he was twenty-three, only a year younger than Minghao himself. He was an aspiring actor and singer who studied and did gigs for weddings and parties in his free time. He loved music and dance, and Minghao thought he not only could bond with him over their shared love of arts, but also that he had a lovely voice over the phone as they arranged a time and place to meet. Seungkwan was polite, and suggested a lovely bar downtown that he had once performed at to have their date (the brunette was glad it was somewhere casual and not a fancy restaurant—he didn’t think he owned any clothes nice enough for that). Minghao wasn’t one to protest with someone he barely knew, and besides, the setting sounded nice from the boy’s description, so he agreed and made sure to set a reminder on his phone for Friday at eight o’clock.

When he came face to face with Seungkwan the first time, Minghao was pleasantly surprised. His cheeks were full and rosy, eyes shone and he was dressed in a nice, navy button-up shirt. When he saw his smile, the brunette knew he was a showman, his entire aura radiating confidence; but he was apparently a gentleman too, as when Minghao went to shake the boy’s hand and take a seat at one of the tables in the unfamiliar, yet cosy bar, Seungkwan made sure he was there to pull out his chair for him. It was a bit much by Minghao’s standards, but the taller boy bit back his tongue and thanked him quietly, accent seeping through in his words. His friends were always so rude to him, he thought as he tried to calm his instincts, he just wasn’t used to anyone being this polite with him.

“What can I get you from the bar?” Seungkwan practically sang, bouncing up and down on his feet next to the table Minghao had just taken a seat at. The question almost startled the brunette as he played with his fingers in his lap.

“Get me a Coke or something, thanks.”

The boy looked like he was about to question Minghao’s choice in non-alcoholic beverage, but he shrugged and turned quickly to make his way towards the bar top to place their orders. Minghao didn’t drink, at least, he didn’t drink with strangers and people he didn’t know and trust completely. Even if he was with Junhui or Jeonghan or Soonyoung, hauled up in his wreck of an apartment, he would still question whether or not he really wanted to drink alcohol at all—he was most definitely the designated driver, minus the odd occasion he gave into Jeonghan’s pestering. 

Minghao’s deep brown eyes took the time his date was gone to survey the surroundings of the room. The lighting was dim, a few lamps tucked away in corners, fairy lights hung haphazardly around the clock above the stage on the far left of the room, the main ceiling lights glowing mutedly giving it a dark yet warm feel. It wasn’t obsessively crowded like a lot of the bars in central Seoul and he concluded he quite liked it just as Seungkwan returned to the table with a glass of some weird-looking, pink liquid and Minghao’s Coke—topped with a small umbrella.

“I thought Coke on its own was a little boring, so I asked the bartender to make it a bit more fun.” Seungkwan grinned, placing the brunette’s drink on the table in front of him before taking his seat. He moved his dyed blonde hair to the side and placed the straw from his own drink between his plump lips. The little addition to his beverage told Minghao a lot. 

Like Minghao had guessed, Seungkwan oozed confidence; only seconds later, without any proper introductions into where they lived, what they had studied, what their favourite colours were, et cetera, Minghao was already listening to a full-out story on Seungkwan’s future and aspirations. 

At first he didn’t mind listening to Seungkwan’s stories of college life, telling him about the 30+ gigs he had performed in just the past six months alone to try and get his name out into the world, and that _yes_ , he did plan to audition for any and every company out there, but only when the time was right, because hadn’t he heard that there would be a new reality show casting aspiring young singers wanting to make it in the business, he only had to hold out a few more months to get cast, because who _wouldn’t_ want to cast him and his beautiful voice, only to find out he was the next, big acting star too? 

Minghao, who thought that after living and studying in Korea now for almost seven years of his life he had finally mastered the Korean language, struggled to keep up with what the boy was saying, and at the speed he was saying it. _Does he ever breathe?_ He thought, moving the straw in his drink about with his teeth. Even if Minghao wanted to say something, or actually make _conversation_ with his date, he couldn’t get a word in edgeways. His attempt (met with much regret from himself) to ask more about Seungkwan’s hometown was met with the blonde interrupting him to complain about ‘some stuck up cow’ that had taken his spot at the karaoke night two weeks prior in another bar.

Having friends like Junhui and Jeonghan, Minghao thought he knew the meaning of vanity and self-obsession; the two of them were unbearable when talking about themselves to the point Minghao would snap. Now, third Coke into the night, Minghao could now say that he had found a new King to claim those titles. For once, the brunette actually wished desperately that his drink had some form of alcohol in it so this date would be less painful—maybe he could reach over and just gulp down whatever barely-touched soju cocktail Seungkwan had in front of him without him realising.

There was no point in even trying, Minghao concluded as Seungkwan continued to rattle on about himself endlessly, the brunette folding his arms on the table. Let him talk, Minghao thought, but he would be doing anything but actually listening and processing the words being spewed at him. Instead, he began to gaze around the dark room again, ruffling his hair as he came to the conclusion that literally everyone else here was having a better time than him. He could hear laughing from one or two of the tables, and he wasn’t going to lie, it kind of hurt. The clock above the stage ticked slowly and he winced when he realised that he’d been on this train wreck of a date for less than an hour. God help him.

As Seungkwan then began to educate Minghao on his rigorous warm up routine for his voice, the brunette had to suppress the loudest groan and stop himself from hitting his head on the table. Had no one ever told him to just shut up? He was ready to blow, just get up and leave, but he had promised his friends that he would stick it out for a date—and Minghao was a man of his word. But, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t be having a talk with Soonyoung later about what on earth went through his mind when he thought he and Seungkwan would match? Just when he was about to finally tell the blonde to please be quiet, Seungkwan stopped talking at the appearance of someone now at their table who had cleared his throat to speak. 

“Sorry to disturb you.”

Minghao looked up at the guy stood before them, the first thing he noticed being that he was incredibly tall. He felt slightly weird raking his eyes up his body from where it met the table, but once Minghao’s eyes met the boy’s chocolate ones, his blinked and swallowed down a lump in his throat. Minghao hated the phrase tall, dark and handsome, but he couldn’t help think that whoever had made that saying had created it based on the guy right in front of him. The man’s dark locks were lightly ruffled on top of his head, framing his unfairly handsome face with those deep brown eyes. Then it snapped in Minghao’s head that the body he’d just admired was dressed in a dark uniform. Ah, he was one of the bartenders.

“Are you here to collect our drinks? You can just take the empty glasses, you don’t have to ask.” Seungkwan smiled, hoping to return quickly to his story. Minghao winced and ran a hand through his hair. 

“Uh,” The bartender chuckled awkwardly with a slight shake of his head. “I can clear those away for you, but I actually came to let you know that there’s a call for you out the back.”

Minghao glanced up, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion as he saw the man gesturing towards him with his hand. There was a phone call… for him… in the middle of his date? And the person calling had phoned the bar… and not his own phone? The thoughts processed slowly in his mind and Minghao slipped out his phone quickly to see if he had obliviously missed a call or two, but no notifications flashed up on the screen. Whoever it was however, despite the oddness of them having the bar’s number and calling him on it, had saved Minghao from a possible five minutes of torturous tales about Seungkwan’s dramatic life and that was enough to warrant his gratitude. 

Nodding, he smiled at his date without it reaching his eyes before sliding his seat backwards to get up and follow the hot bartender to the phone. Minghao trailed a few steps behind, letting his eyes linger on the man’s broad back as they entered the corridor beside the bar top, meant for staff only. It was a tad lighter in the corridor than it was in the main room, so when the bartender turned around and stopped in front of him, Minghao was able to see that he had definitely under-exaggerated the guy’s beauty. What the hell was he doing as a bartender, when he could definitely be on the cover of Vogue Korea? What was worse was that Minghao almost felt himself swoon— _actually_ swoon as the guy gave him an apologetic smile, eyes shining; the brunette noticed one of his canines was poking out on the right hand side, to make matters worse.

“There’s actually no phone call,” the bartender ran a hand over the back of his neck, but Minghao was still frozen to the spot, internally punching himself for reacting so strongly over a random guy, “No phone call for you, I mean. You just looked like you needed a bit of a breather from the guy you were with—that, or an escape route.”

Minghao remained still but watched as the guy dipped his head bashfully, bouncing on the spot. The brunette tried to bite back a smile, but this one positive of the evening made it impossible to hold it for long. He was genuinely so grateful to this stranger, and although the words didn’t exactly make it out of his mouth, he could see the bartender had noticed when their eyes met again.

The bartender smiled a little more before he began to rub his hands together continuing what he was saying as to break the silence. “Take a few minutes back here to figure out an excuse if you need. I know the feeling of being stuck with an insufferable date—that is, if it is a date of course. I—I don’t mean to presume—”

“Yeah, it was supposed to be a date.” Minghao interrupted him, speaking for the first time in hopes that the guy would stop bumbling. He swallowed, winced and raised his eyebrows in reaction to what the boy said. “Was it really that obvious it was insufferable?”

“The only reason the guy you were with didn’t realise is because he looked like he was in his own world the entire time.” The guy chuckled and Minghao frowned at the tingling sensation in his chest caused by the noise. “You were, um, looking as if you were about to choke slam him or something. I thought I’d intervene before that actually happened. Save us the paperwork.” 

So, he thought he was funny, did he? Minghao cocked his head to the side and scoffed before they returned to silence. The bartender just nodded after that, smile still on his face, pointing towards the door as he began to make his way out of it and back to the bar. 

“Wait!” Minghao shouted and spun on his heels suddenly, stepping forward just one pace. The guy turned around and raised his eyebrows quizzically, wondering what else it was that the brunette could possibly want to say. Minghao just swallowed for the nth time and gave a small smile. “Thank you. You really saved me from what could have been a never-ending hell of an evening.” 

The bartender smiled again toothily, that endearing canine poking out, as he replied, “No problem.”

Then the black-haired guy exited the hallway and left Minghao alone to finally breathe again, steel himself and ask himself what the hell just happened? That smile… No, no he didn’t need to think like that, he was perfectly happy being single and focused on his future. He’d only agreed to go on these blind dates to get his friends off his back (and the nagging ache oh his heart off his chest) after all. All he had to do was go out there and tell Seungkwan he had had a great time (he hadn’t) and that he might call him again (he wouldn’t) before making his getaway.

Looking at the clock on his phone, Minghao gave himself a good minute more to put himself back together after that scene with the bartender before he walked back out of the doors, heading towards the table Seungkwan was waiting for him at. Minghao had almost expected the blonde to be carrying on the conversation with his empty seat, the boy had so much to say; alas it was not so, as the brunette returned and saw Seungkwan sat quietly for the first time that evening, sipping his drink.

“There you are!” Seungkwan almost leapt from his seat in excitement, putting down his cocktail. “Is everything okay?”

Minghao shook his head a prayed that his acting skills were as good as the blonde’s supposed ones. “I’m going to have to make a move, I’m sorry. Apparently, there’s something wrong at home and I have to go and see if everything’s okay.”

“Oh,” the boy’s smile drooped, making him look like a puppy that had been told he wasn’t getting a treat. Minghao would have felt sorry for him if he hadn’t been so self-obsessed the whole evening. “We could reschedule for another day? I’m usually free, aside from a few weekend gigs!”

Wincing, the brunette reached into the pocket of the coat he was sliding on, pulling out his wallet to place enough money on the table to cover the cost of his drinks for the evening. “I’ll have a think and give you a call. Thanks for coming here tonight, it was nice to meet you.”

Giving Seungkwan one last handshake, Minghao practically sprinted out of the cosy bar, wishing he had at least one last chance to look back at the bar behind him to see the bartender. But, as he escaped the bar he felt a sudden relief wash over him, calling a taxi to pick him up and take him home.

Sinking into the black leather seats of the vehicle, Minghao let out a long breath and ran his hands through his hair. The evening had been a complete disaster; enough to put Minghao off the whole blind dating deal altogether. He pulled his phone out of his pocket with his long fingers and immediately dialled Soonyoung’s number in hopes of receiving an explanation to the mess that had been his date. 

As the phone rang and street lights raced by the window, Minghao couldn’t help but chew his lip and think about the helpful bartender that had been there to help him make his excuses to leave. He had been extremely handsome and kind, but also seemingly appeared to have the same snarky sense of humour the brunette owned. He was probably straight; Minghao squeezed his eyes shut as he held the bridge of his nose with his thumb and finger, shaking his head.

“Minghao? Is everything okay? How’s the date going?” Soonyoung’s voice echoed down the line loud and fast as soon as he picked up the phone.

“Date’s ended,” Minghao grumbled bluntly as the taxi stopped at a red light. “It was undoubtedly the worst date of my life—worse than the one where Hansol took me to that restaurant to tell me he was leaving for America.”

“Ouch." 

“Yeah. So to answer your question, no, everything isn’t okay. How could you ever think a guy like Seungkwan would suit a guy like me?”

There was a slight pause and the brunette tapped his foot on the floor of the car, waiting for a valid reply. A short breath later, Soonyoung said, “I thought he was funny, and he likes arts. I thought you two could talk about dance and performing and stuff!”

“I would’ve loved to if he would have stopped talking about himself for just one second.”

“What do you mean?” Soonyoung asked, sounding genuinely confused. Had he even met this guy? Minghao questioned.

“Seriously? He was the most narcissistic person I have ever met—and not in the Junhui and Jeonghan kind of way. Worse. That guy _loved_ himself. He’d probably marry himself it were possible.” The taxi pulled up outside of his building and Minghao quickly tossed the driver the correct money before sliding out of the vehicle. He walked up to the door, placing the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he fished around in his pocket for his key.

“I just thought he was passionate about his work. He always seemed quite humble in college.” Minghao listened to his friend as he opened the door that led to the stairs, taking him to his little apartment one floor up. “I’m sorry about this, Minghao." 

“It’s fine. I get that you tried to find someone that admired the arts; he was just a bit too much.”

“I’ll pick someone better next time, you can count on that.” 

Unlocking the door to his actual flat, Minghao strolled in and kicked off his shoes, walking to the kitchen to find a snack. He rolled his eyes at the disappointment in his friend’s voice but stopped suddenly in his hunt for food.

“Oh, just to warn you, I told him that something was wrong at home to get out of there. I also told him I’d call, which I obviously won’t. So, if he happens to ask you about it, make something up—tell him I’ve moved back to China or whatever.” 

With a snort, Soonyoung’s laughter proceeded to burst from his chest and fill his ear. “Minghao, you have no shame. Here I was, thinking it was only Junhui, Jeonghan and me that had to suffer under your hand. You’re unbelievable and I wish you were still the shy guy I knew when you first showed up at my dance classes.”

“What would be the fun in not taunting you?” Minghao scoffed, opening the cupboard he knew was full of junk food. “Preferably, I’d end this whole ordeal now seeing as tonight went so horribly, and I can’t imagine the others going any better. But you guys wouldn’t let me, so whose turn is it next anyway?”

“Jun’s.” Soonyoung informed him with a huff. “And I can’t give you a hint on whether it will be good or not either; we promised to keep our choices to ourselves so I don’t know who he or Jeonghan have picked in the line-up.”

“If it’s Junhui, I’m sure I’ll hate whoever he’s picked, just out of spite.” 

“Minghao! Give the poor guy a chance—the guy being who Junhui has picked, of course. I’m sure he’ll be great.” Soonyoung sighed. “I’ll let the guys know how tonight went, just be ready to receive information from Jun soon about next Friday, okay?” 

“Okay, okay. I’ll give him a chance. Poor guy probably agreed to it to get away from Junhui, so the least I can do is show up I suppose. Couldn’t be any worse than this one was,” Minghao mumbled, grabbing a bag of crisps from the top shelf as he suddenly remembered the bartender once again. Why couldn’t he get him out of his mind? They had barely spoken, for goodness sake. He was nice to look at, that was all.

Soonyoung laughed down the phone as the brunette placed a crisp onto his tongue. “Don’t worry, Minghao. You’ll be with the perfect guy in no time, we promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was a lot of fun to write, to the point where i went a bit overboard with seungkwan's personality omg. i love seungkwan so much, he's my favourite after minghao and seokmin, but i couldn't help myself when writing him this way.
> 
> thank you to chloe for checking this over for me a little and i hope i can update this every week, as long as writers block doesnt kill me first.
> 
> thank you for reading, commenting and/or leaving kudos -- it's very much appreciated!


	3. three.

His date’s name was Jihoon and they were somewhere in central Seoul; Minghao couldn’t remember the exact name of the establishment but the boy had suggested it to him over the phone, and he wasn’t one to protest when his own ideas fell short. It was some kind of bar/lounge/club place that played all types of music—all at excruciatingly loud volumes. How was he supposed to speak to his date if he was bleeding from his ears? But, whereas Jihoon looked fidgety before when they first met outside the location, as soon as they were settled onto a sofa at the side of the room, the shorter male seemed to vaguely relax with the songs being played.

The smaller mousy-brown boy, who was a year older than Minghao and worked at a record company alongside Junhui, tapped the brunette’s shoulder and pointed towards the bar, suggesting they get a drink straight away. Minghao winced at the wall of sound and frowned at the shapes the boy’s mouth was making, but once the general gist of what he had been shouting registered with him, the brunette shook his head.

“No thanks!” Minghao attempted to yell over the music, unsure whether or not the boy had actually heard him. He resorted to waving his hands in front of him. “I don’t really drink!”

Soon, Minghao was watching the small boy push his way through the cluster of people moving and bouncing to the noise in what they would call dancing, but he would call an embarrassment. If _Gangnam Style_ came on at top volume, he didn’t think he would want to live long enough to see the people here try and dance with their two left feet. Even the thought made him cringe, wishing he could at least see his date ordering to distract him from the mass of moving bodies.

 _Just talk about music and you’ll get along swimmingly_ , Jun had told him when he had called up on Tuesday to give Minghao the information about his second blind date. Music, the brunette nodded to himself and bit his lip, he could do that, especially since this boy seemed a lot less… _Seungkwan_. Actually, aside from the mutual interest in music, the two boys he had been set up with thus far couldn’t have been more different at first appearance. It was amazing whom his friends considered compatible with him.

Tapping his foot along to the song being played, Minghao pursed his lips and ran a hand through his hair to try and stop it from sticking to his forehead in the growing humidity and sweatiness of the room. He had never been a fan of clubbing or whatever the hell this was, preferring to sit down and have a conversation with his friends rather than be pushed around by guys twice the size of him on the packed dance floor. Crinkling his nose, he accidentally made eye contact with a girl across the room that was smiling at him around the straw in her mouth, and he withdrew his gaze to his lap immediately. He didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea as he was sat alone, especially not a girl who was probably looking for a quick hook up. He definitely wasn’t interested.

How long did it take to order a drink in this place? Minghao began to question, braving the glance towards the bar. Sure, the place was busy—it was a Friday evening, for Christ sake!—but Jihoon had been gone now for nearly ten minutes and the brunette couldn’t see him through the crowd of people. He pulled out his phone and hesitated before dialling the boy’s number, yet to no avail. Mailbox.

Taking a deep breath, Minghao decided maybe it wasn’t best for him to stay put. Maybe the smaller boy had been whisked away by some other guy onto the dance floor, or maybe he had been kidnapped, he didn’t know, but the unknown made him get to his feet and wonder in the direction of the bar. A quick look to his left confirmed that the girl he had made eye contact with earlier was still glancing his way, tucking her long dyed pink hair behind her ear.

Usually a few mumbled ‘excuse me’s’ would have gotten him through a crowd, but through the deafening beat of the music, Minghao had to resort to yelling and using his arm to cut through the crowd of young adults. The brunette was all for physical contact with people he was close to, draping his arms over their shoulders, touching their knees, but with strangers pressing against him then and there, it made his stomach turn and urge him to hurry up.

Bursting free of the maze of bodies, Minghao gasped for air he was lacking whilst surrounded on all sides, clutching at his chest. The bar was now, however, only a few meters in front of him, and only a moderate amount of people were crowding around it—certainly not enough to be waiting on a singular drink order for ten minutes. Scratching his head, Minghao paced closer, wishing the music were quieter so he could at least call the boy’s name in an attempt to locate him. Alas, he was left with searching for him by sight in the dark blue lighting of the room, and with a good scan of the bodies at the bar, not a single one resembled his date in the slightest.

“Hey, uh,” Minghao slipped into a free space at the bar top, where a bartender was making a cocktail of some sort. The man looked up at him, a small helpful smile on his face. “Has a short guy, maybe 5’3” or 5’4” with light brown hair been by here recently?”

The bartender furrowed his eyebrows and shrugged. “Sorry, man. Couldn’t tell you. We see so many people in an evening I could never remember everyone. Hope you find them, though.”

Minghao shot a quick thanks to the worker anyway before sighing and running a hand through his hair. He really couldn’t think of where the boy could be if he wasn’t still ordering his drink.

Turning to briefly search the dance floor then head back to his seat, Minghao came face-to-face with the pink haired girl that he had tried to avoid making awkward eye contact with from across the room. She smiled; drink no longer in her hand and Minghao tried his hardest not to wince at how uncomfortable he was at this unknown venue, all by himself.

“Hey,” she said as best she could over the music, voice sounding strangely calm for the volume she was having to speak at. “Are you all alone here?”

Minghao might be attracted solely to guys, but he knew when a girl was attempting to flirt. As flattering as it was, the brunette felt extremely mortified in his current situation, still desperately looking around for his date that he was more and more convinced had now bailed on him, despite the evening just beginning. Seeing no escape, he took a deep breath and shook his head in response to the girl. 

“I’m actually looking for someone. He kinda left me to go and get drinks, but now I can’t seem to find him.”

“The guy you were sitting with at the side?” She raised her eyebrows and Minghao’s eyes widened.

“Yes! The guy I was with, have you seen him?”

“Short, brown-ish hair, black shirt?”

Nodding so hard he felt dizzy, Minghao replied, “That’s him!”

“Yeah, I saw him. But he didn’t go to get drinks. He walked straight past me on my way back from the bar. Looked like he was headed outside.”

The song changed to something with a little less volume, but still louder than music should be played at that time of night. Minghao’s eyebrows furrowed and he rubbed the back of his neck in confusion.

“Outside? You’re sure?”

“Yeah. Well, that was the direction he was going.” The girl’s smile brightened and she quickly looked back at the dance floor before her eyes were back on Minghao’s. “I wouldn’t worry. He’s probably just a little hot and bothered. A lot of people step out for a little while. You should come and dance, take your mind off it.”

His face was tight as he grimaced and shook his head, shuffling a little in the direction the girl had suggested before she got any closer to him. He tilted his head to the side and let out a dry chuckle, declining her offer. 

“Usually I would, but I’m _really_ not your type.” 

“How do you know?”

“I have to go and find my _date_. I’m sorry. Nice meeting you.” Minghao darted away, headed towards the opposite end of the room to where the back exit was. He made quick work of moving through the drunken partygoers and managed to reach the door in less than a minute, cold palm pressing against the steel to open the door and search outside.

He slipped his phone out of his pocket as he stepped out, going to dial the number Junhui had given him in the hopes of reaching Jihoon, but it wasn’t needed. There, a few meters away, his date leant against the wall with his head hung low.

“Jihoon?” Minghao tried carefully, taking a few cautious steps towards the boy who had seemingly abandoned him less than thirty minutes into their date.

At the mention of his name, the older boy looked up and swallowed, faltering as he spoke. “Oh, M—inghao, hi!”

The back of the club was silent compared to the interior, with only the sound of cars passing by and the tiniest bit of chatter amongst those who were gathered outside for a smoke or a break. Minghao felt like he could finally breathe however, as he made his way towards his date, grateful that he was no longer suffocating in the venue.

“Are you okay? You just vanished.” 

Jihoon looked sideways up at him before letting his eyes trail to the ground once more. “Yeah, sorry about that. I just needed a bit of a breather.” 

“Too busy in there, huh?” Minghao chuckled, hoping to quell the awkward air amongst them. They were strangers, sure, but this was supposed to be a date and Minghao couldn’t help but feel something was off. 

The older boy laughed dryly in response, but shook his head, finally standing upright to face the brunette. “No, actually, I quite like that it’s a bit too crowded and a bit too hot in there. It’s a nice escape before you go back to reality again.” He paused and Minghao watched as he drew a deep breath, chest puffing up as he did before letting the air out slowly. “I’ve just never been on a date…”

“It’s probably a bit intense for a date, so I understand why you’ve never brought someone here. It’s a nice place and all, but not really _my_ thing. Though I’m sure some people—”

“No,” Jihoon waved a hand in front of Minghao cutting him off mid-sentence. The brunette froze, eyebrows furrowing as he watched the boy’s face and then hand fall. “I mean, I’ve never been on a date before. Not here, not anywhere. Ever.”

“Oh.” Well, _that_ explained a lot.

“I actually came out here because I needed to clear my head. The truth is, Minghao—and I owe you the truth for leaving you in there alone like that,” Jihoon continued, “the truth is that I actually went on this date as a favour to Junhui. He was kinda pestering me and reminded me of something he did for me maybe two years ago, so I had to accept. You know what he’s like.” 

 _Yeah_ , Minghao nodded silently with wide, knowing eyes. _He knew all too well_.

“I’m sure you’re lovely and that we have more than a lot in common, I’m just… not interested in dating anyone at the moment. I don’t even know where I would begin,” Jihoon scratched his head, but he looked as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “I’m sorry.” 

Minghao tilted his head back slightly and let out a sigh of his own before he smiled lightly at Jihoon. “It’s fine. Honestly, I never wanted to go on any blind dates anyway. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Thanks for understanding.” The shorter boy nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets.

 _Two bad dates_ , Minghao winced as he watched the boy awkwardly shuffle away. _What the hell was he doing wrong?_

* * *

 

“Choi Seungcheol.” Jeonghan smirked down the phone as soon as Minghao had picked it up, without even so much as a hello. “Twenty-six. He’s in talks to take over a managerial position in his business and he’s gorgeous.”

“You sure _you_ don’t want to date him? Not having problems with Jisoo are you?” Minghao had bit back without any reason, other than the fact he was sick and tired of being his friend’s puppet. 

“I’m going to ignore what you just said and hope that your ass shows up at that bar in downtown Seoul where you had your first tragic date. Cheol works near there and I said it was easy for both of you to get to after your jobs on Friday. Have fun my little sunflower.”

Minghao knew his date with Seungcheol was going to be a bust as soon as the older boy dragged him straight to the bar and sat him down to talk about their past relationships. Whilst Minghao really didn’t have much to tell other than his only long relationship with Hansol, the ashy-haired boy had a lot he wanted to spill.

Apparently Seungcheol, who was indeed on his way to becoming manager of a corporate business, was also still hung up on his ex: an irresistable co-worker named Doyoon, and couldn’t stop telling him about the wonderful months they had dated. After four beers and two cocktails, the story went on and the man burst into tears. What the hell was Jeonghan thinking, setting him up with a guy that was still hung up on his ex? Sure, Minghao still held everyone to mostly the same standards as Hansol, but this was different, he wasn’t getting drunk on a date to relieve the pain of his recently lost love.

The guy had indeed been attractive at the start like Jeonghan had said; but when the guy was sobbing onto his shoulder, ruining his shirt, it was an entirely different story. Minghao didn’t know what to do other than rub Seungcheol’s head in an attempt to console and comfort him, the wailing boy rubbing at his reddening eyes. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and sighed at the time. Nine-thirty. What a disaster.

Dialling the number he had grown to know off by heart, he heard the other end pick up with a softer voice than he had expected. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, is that Jisoo?”

“Yeah, hi Minghao. _What’s up_?” The boy slipped into English and Minghao smiled briefly. He liked Jisoo. His overall charming, calm character was a nice addition to their tight-knit group, especially when he made a tense situation lighter with a few jokes. Plus, he was good for Jeonghan, made him happy and a lot kinder towards his friends, which Minghao appreciated after years of being subjected to his ‘bullying’. Though he had no idea why someone like Jisoo would ever fall for a guy like Jeonghan, he wasn’t there to question when they just _worked_ together as a couple.

“You sound like you’re busy, I’m sorry for calling.”

“No, it’s no problem, what is it?” 

“Is Jeonghan free? Because he might need to come and pick up the guy I’m with. He’s a wreck. Keeps crying about a ‘Doyoon’ and how Jeonghan said it would get a lot easier, but that it isn’t. _Please_ save me.”

A small chuckle rang in his ears, followed by the boy’s acknowledgement. “Sure, I’ll let him know once he’s out of the shower. Sorry your date didn’t go to plan.”

Minghao sighed as the boy on his shoulder let out a loud sob again, sniffing. “Don’t worry about it. And Jisoo, I’m really sorry I had to call.”

The call ended with another few kind ‘don’t worry’s’ from Jisoo, and almost immediately Seungcheol began to babble at Minghao, apologising profusely for being such a mess and that this had clearly been a bad idea and it definitely wasn’t Minghao’s fault but he, Seungcheol, was clearly not ready for a relationship right now and how long would it be until Jeonghan came to pick him up? 

It may have been the most exhausting almost two-hours of Minghao’s life to date, but in the end he manoeuvred the ashy-haired boy into the back of a grumpy-looking Jeonghan’s car, and told him for the eighth time that it was okay, that he didn’t need to take the blame because he couldn’t help how he felt, before closing the door. 

“You owe me, Hao.” Jeonghan quipped, rolling down the window to speak to his friend. “I had a whole evening planned. You couldn’t have stuck this out or called a taxi?”

“He asked for you!” Minghao held back from yelling in the street, but clenched his fist into the fabric of his trousers. “And if anything, you owe me for setting me up on one of the most excruciatingly painful dates of my life!” 

The car sped away as Minghao sauntered back into the bar to retrieve his jacket from the bar stool he had hung it on. He hadn’t had a chance to put it on as Seungcheol had latched onto his side before they had made their way outside to send him home. Luckily, the jacket still remained draped over the wooden barstool, and Minghao decided suddenly to retake his seat at the bar, placing his head in his hands with a groan.

“What can I get for you?” a vaguely familiar voice asked. Minghao’s head shot up and he felt his heart skip a beat as he stared into the familiar brown eyes of the cute bartender that had helped him two dates prior. He appeared to have just started his shift as he was still fiddling around with his uniform, waiting for Minghao’s order. 

“Just a Coke, please. And some new friends,” Minghao rolled his eyes and the cute bartender nodded with a little chuckle, turning around to grab a glass from the shelf and fill it with ice and soda. Minghao stared at his back once again, gaze travelling down to his ass. It was firm and round in his black work trousers and Minghao swallowed, trying to rid himself of the want to touch it. Blush began to rise on his face, only intensifying when his eyes snapped up and came to rest on the man’s broad shoulders, filling out the white shirt he had on.

“Get a grip, Minghao.” He mumbled under his breath in Mandarin, placing his head back into his hands for a beat of two to try and cool off a little.

“One coke. No umbrella this time, just ice.” The bartender grinned, placing the glass down on the counter top in front of him. “And I’m not sure I can really help with your second order; is it on the special party menu?” 

Minghao thanked him, biting on his lip as the taller boy tried to joke with him in a successful attempt to cheer him up. He smiled back to show that the comment had worked, before sighing and taking a sip of his non-alcoholic drink. “You remembered the umbrella.” 

“I take it that was another bad date?” The tall, dark and handsome bartender asked him, treading lightly in case it was a touchy subject. 

Another sigh, Minghao let his cheek fall into the palm of his hand, supported by his elbow on the bar. “The worst.”

“Why’s that?” Minghao blinked at the boy’s genuine interest in his life, grabbing a towel from behind the bar as he began to polish glasses. He seemed to genuinely want to hear what the brunette had to say, cocking his head to the side. Minghao swallowed, unused to this much attention from someone other than his friends and his students at the studio he taught at, especially from someone as beautiful as the bartender. He tried his hardest not to stare at the naked, tanned arm before him. 

“My friends set me up with my date just now to help me try and find someone, because I haven’t dated in god knows how long, only the guy was a blubbering mess after a few drinks and wouldn’t stop crying about this guy he had just broken up with—bit of a shitty move to talk about an ex you aren’t over to the person you’re seeing, even if you’re drunk.” Minghao scoffed, feeling his insides bubble with pent up rage. “I should never have agreed to let my friends set me up on a whole bunch of blind dates. What was I thinking? My friends can’t even be in the same room together for five minutes without bickering, let alone find me someone that I actually enjoy being with enough to even consider a second date. So far they’ve been the most self-involved, insecure or biggest emotional wrecks I have ever seen. Not a single one of them have I wanted to hug, let alone date. It’s been horrible and mortifying and—” Minghao’s eyes widened suddenly, realising he’d essentially babbled at a complete stranger about the hardships of his dating life, all mostly in one big breath. Glancing up, he winced at the man apologetically.

However, the man seemed amused by Minghao’s sudden outburst, placing down the glass he had been polishing throughout the story. He proceeded to lean on the counter top, much like the brunette, with his hand under his chin. “It’s hard finding someone if you don’t put yourself out there—your friends seem like they really do want to help, even if the ‘help’ has been questionable thus far.” 

Unfortunately, Minghao couldn’t disagree that his friends really did want to help him find someone, sighing in response. “Why do they set me up with people that really don’t suit me at all, though?” Running his hands over his face and through his hair, the brunette groaned again. “They should know me better. We’ve been friends for six years. Am I really that hard to match with? Or am I just selfish?”

“Some people just aren’t for you. Why should you have to settle for anyone less than you think you deserve? That doesn’t make you selfish at all.”

Minghao’s stomach somersaulted and he rubbed the back of his neck, other hand reaching for the drink before him again. The bartender’s face was completely serious and the brunette appreciated the words he had been given to him. 

“You think so?”

“I know so. You see, I’m this big bag of knowledge and everything I say is fact, so you should totally listen to me when I say th—”

“Your shift’s just started, Mingyu. Less talking, more serving!” A voice called from the opposite end of the bar, and when Minghao looked over he saw a tall, slightly older guy stood there with his arms folded across his chest. Definitely the bar owner, he concluded before turning back to the boy before him.

 _Mingyu_. Minghao ran the name over and over in his brain. His lips trembled at the want—no, the _need_ to say his name, but he was cut short as Mingyu clicked his tongue and scrunched his nose up apologetically. 

“Sorry. I’ve gotta get back to work,” he said, motioning towards his boss with his thumb before he made his way in that direction.

Watching him leave, Minghao took another long sip of his drink and decided that since he was already here, he might as well stay for one more drink. What was the harm? He wanted to be able to speak more to tall, dark and—Mingyu. Mingyu. _Mingyu_. The name rattled around in his brain and he felt a little light-headed. It was strange, how he felt like the boy knew him already, and on a much deeper level; he hoped the want to talk a little bit more was mutual, as Minghao drummed his fingers on the wooden counter, watching as Mingyu smiled and interacted with other customers, making their drinks with ease.

Apparently, it was a mutual feeling, as the taller boy glanced over, flashing a toothy grin when he saw that Minghao was still sat there, glass now empty. He made his way over under the half-watching eye of his boss, and refilled his drink slowly so they could talk a little. The rest of the night, the brunette felt warm and happy as Mingyu every so often paced over to where he was seated to continue their little conversation, on no singular topic in particular, just glad to have a break from the reality of work and life. Minghao was pleased, however, to learn that the guy was interested in music and performing, but had never pursued it outside of college clubs; before he could go deeper into it, the black-haired boy was whisked away again to serve two giddy girls. He tried not to read into the smile he gave them, eyes glistening.

“What’s that saying? Third time’s the charm?” Mingyu’s voice filled his ears about ten minutes later when the surge of customers wanting a drink died down, causing Minghao to stop scrolling through his camera roll to look up at the boy now in front of him. “The dates, I mean. Isn’t three usually the charm?”

“Three is definitely not the charm,” Minghao said with a straight face, causing Mingyu’s small smile to fade from his face a little. The brunette couldn’t hold his intense expression, letting out a small, pitiful chuckle. “Tonight was date three and—as you are well aware, was a complete and utter mess. I guess, on the bright side, it wasn’t a complete and utter psychopath I was set up with. Though, based on my friends’ choices so far, it’s only a matter of time.” 

Once the brunette had stopped talking, he bit on his cheek and a silence fell upon them for a while. Looking up at Mingyu, it looked as if the boy was contemplating something, eyebrows slightly furrowed as he rang his hands together in front of him. Minghao was about to apologise again for his outburst when Mingyu opened his mouth.

“You could have all your dates here, you know?” 

“Pardon?” 

Minghao was then the one to stare quizzically at the bartender, watching him fidget and lick his pink lips. “You could have your dates here, y’know, in case there is anyone like that—a psychopath, I mean. I’m here in the evening at weekends and on Wednesdays during the afternoon. That way if you don’t feel comfortable or want any excuse to leave, I’ve got your back. Only if you want to, of course.”

The butterflies in his stomach just wouldn’t go away, especially not after what Mingyu had just said. Minghao finished the last bit of his soda and tapped his fingers against the side of his empty glass to the beat of his heart.

“That’s actually a really kind offer that I’d be happy to take you up on. Thanks, Mingyu.” The name rolled off his tongue without any thought, completely natural to the brunette. 

Mingyu chuckled softly, side of his mouth creasing upwards as he looked questioningly at Minghao. “You know my name?”

“I’ve heard your boss shout it enough times this evening,” Minghao smirked back, lowering his head whilst his gaze remained on the taller boy.

The bartender rolled his eyes and lifted his hand up to ruffle the hair at the back of his head, teeth poking through past his lips as he smiled at the brunette. Once his hand was lowered, he tilted his head to the side. “Well, since you know my name, do I get to know yours? Seeing as I so graciously offered you shelter and support under the roof of my workplace?”

“I don’t owe you anything, Mingyu.” Minghao raised his eyebrows playfully and Mingyu snatched the glass away from in front of him, pouting slightly in a way that made the brunette want to launch himself over the bar top and kiss the look off his face. He was weak in the presence of this almost stranger and he hated it.

“Fine, then I won’t be offering my services as your bodyguard.” Mingyu shrugged, turning to saunter away.

“It’s Minghao.” He gave in, not wanting the boy to stop talking to him. “Xu Minghao. From Anshan, Liaoning in China. Extremely unlucky on dates, but I don’t need you to be a hands-on bodyguard as I’m pretty good at Wushu, if I do say so myself. Teach it, in fact.”

Mingyu kept his back facing towards the brunette, but Minghao could see in the reflective wall behind all the liquors that he was smiling at the fact he had given in. Minghao couldn’t believe how easily he had revealed that information about himself, but alas it proved successful when Mingyu turned on his heels and headed back towards the brunette with that same smile on his face that he caught in the mirror.

“Well, Xu Minghao from Anshan, Liaoning in China and self-proclaimed Wushu expert, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He watched as the bartender quickly wiped his hands on his black trousers before extending out his hand. “I’m Kim Mingyu of Anyang, but now a resident and student here in Seoul. Currently studying fine art, law and culinary skills at the university in the day, part-time bartender at night; a bit like Batman, really, but with less flashy gadgets and bad guys to defeat.”

A nice guy that wants to help and has a dumb sense of humour. Minghao stared intently at the boy and took his hand, shaking it lightly for a few seconds. He prayed his hands weren’t sweaty, as he didn’t check before he grasped Mingyu’s. A tingling sensation spread down his arm, starting from the tips of his fingers as their skin met. Minghao bit the inside of his cheek so he didn’t give his instant attraction away.

They let go of each other’s hands shortly after and Mingyu threw a glance back across the expanse of the bar, realising he had left his only other co-worker to serve a group of people now gathering.

“I have to get back to work again,” Mingyu nodded, unable to quell the smile on his face as they looked at each other. Minghao smiled back, looking at the time on his phone, wincing. Jeez, he’d been here since quarter-to-eight and it was now eleven-thirty; where had the time gone? 

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve got to get going anyway. My bed is calling me after a long phone call with my friend in which I yell at him, asking why he decided to set me up with a blubbering child.”

A melodic chuckle filled the brunette’s ears as he watched Mingyu throw back his head and place a hand on his abdomen. The sound had such an impact on him that Minghao almost tripped and fell off his stool.

“You do that.” Mingyu smiled widely, corners of his eyes creasing as he ran a hand through his black hair. “I’ll see you around, Minghao.” 

“Yeah, see you next Friday. Have a nice evening, Batman.” Minghao teased, noticing the bartender push at the inside of his cheek with his tongue in a short scoff before walking off to serve customers. The brunette tried to ignore his racing heart as he pulled out the wallet from his coat, placing a wad of notes on the counter top (probably more than was owed, but he didn’t care) before he grabbed his coat and slowly made his way towards the exit.

The prospect of more dates now wasn’t quite as daunting as before, seeing as he had a hot, caring, probably straight bartender looking out for him if he needed a helping hand. Minghao ignored the little voice at the back of his mind that was telling him he was only setting himself up for another major heartbreak, that he shouldn’t let himself fall down this hole. Mingyu was undoubtedly unavailable— _look_ at him. He knew the idea was insane. There was no way on earth it would ever happen.

Minghao was strong. At least, that's what he told himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think i under-estimated the amount of time it would take for me to upload so please expect a minimum of a week but a max of a two-three week chapter turn over aghhhhh i have too many fic ideas bouncing around in my head right now and i'm writing like four on the go which is an AWFUL idea, but hey ho, it's happening and i can't stop myself.
> 
> so this is kind of a two-in-one chapter and i had a lot of fun writing this one, especially with all the characters and their personalities popping up, so i hope you enjoy! please leave any comments and kudos you like because seeing them makes me smile so very much :) have a great morning/afternoon/evening/night wherever you are!


	4. four.

Soonyoung tapped his chin as Minghao slumped down into the chair at the restaurant they had gathered at the following Monday. The brunette had made sure that for the first half hour of their meal, he had scolded each of his best friends for their choices in date, earning a few unattractive glances from other surrounding customers. 

“And you’re sure that none of them had even a single attractive quality about them?” Soonyoung lowered his hand from his face, using his chopsticks to tap at his bowl instead. Minghao glared at the boy, and Soonyoung raised his hands in defeat.

“Then it’s onto round two.” Jeonghan swallowed his mouthful of food and looked between Junhui and Soonyoung sat across the table from him. “Choose your cards wisely, gentlemen. I have an ace up my sleeve.”

“Is it the guy Jisoo suggested?” Junhui raised his eyebrows and Minghao turned back to his food.

Jeonghan smirked and shook his head, long hair bouncing around his shoulders. “No, Junhui, as that would be cheating. I have someone of my own in mind for our little Hao.”

“It’s hardly cheating listening to your boyfriend for advice,” Soonyoung frowned confusedly. “It’s not a competition. We’re just trying to help Minghao get a head start in his love life.”

“Well, I think a little competition is good.” Junhui nodded and Jeonghan returned the gesture with a smile his way, glad to see someone agreed with him.

A cough from beside the eldest boy turned all the gazes towards Minghao, who had finished his food and was sitting with his arms folded, tapping his foot. “Why is it, whenever you three start to talk about me, you always forget that I am actually _right here!_ I don’t care whether you think this is a game or not, but once these disastrous dates are over, no more meddling with my love life. Understood?”

The trio gulped and muttered small replies to their friend before going back to their food so they could hurry up and leave for Jeonghan’s flat like they had agreed. 

“I promise you my last date won’t be a disaster, Minghao.” Soonyoung smiled at his friend.

“Mine either.” Junhui and Jeonghan said simultaneously, and Minghao let out a groan into his hands as his friends burst into fits of laughter.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The weekend rolled around again after a week of intensive teaching and preparation for dance exams, but just as Minghao thought he might be able to have a rest and just breathe, he let out an exhausted, pitiful groan when he remembered he had a date that evening.

Soonyoung had typed the guy’s number into Minghao’s phone that same Monday after their group dinner, drunkenly giggling as he passed the device back and took a swig of his beer.

Glancing up from the blank contact on the phone in his hand, Minghao raised his eyebrow. “Do I not even get a name?”

“Chan.” Soonyoung hiccupped as Jeonghan and Junhui squabbled over what film they should watch in their drunken state. “Call him! Call him right now.”

Minghao watched as Soonyoung giggled so hard that he began to slip off the sofa, and Minghao was glad that he had decided to have only the one beer, before sticking to the soft drinks (despite Jeonghan telling him he was never any fun). 

“I think I’ll text him instead.” Minghao said, but he doubted anyone was listening as the noise in the apartment grew. He sighed and looked back at the screen of his phone and began to type. 

 

From: **Minghao**

 **(22:13)** Hi, Chan.

This is Minghao, Soonyoung said you would like to meet up this Friday for drinks? I have a specific bar in mind if you’re still up for it.

 

From: **Chan**  

 **(22:18)** Hi!! Yeah that sounds fantastic!! Just text me the location and I’ll be there :-))

 

Minghao really should have caught on to the smiley face at the end of the message that evening—he should have processed that it was a sure sign of impending _disaster_. As he entered the bar that Friday, exhausted from work, his first glance was to the bar. He felt a slightly disappointed clench in his gut when he couldn’t spot Mingyu serving, but it was still early and—he shook his head to clear his mind before looking around for his date. 

He spotted him right away. _Really, Soonyoung?_ Minghao winced and ran a hand through his hair from the shadows. He couldn’t spend a night with that guy, he just couldn’t. It would feel like he was babysitting someone’s kid, he looked so young. The only secure fact in his mind was that the guy had to be at least nineteen to get inside the bar, but seriously? He looked like he was maybe fourteen at the most. 

Minghao sincerely debated internally whether he should just turn around and make his way back home to his bed, and have that nap that he so dearly wanted after that week; unfortunately, his parents had raised him with at least some manners, and he told himself that he couldn’t just abandon that kid. He had to at least tell him that the date wasn’t happening, so as he steeled himself and made his way slowly towards the booth the boy was sat at, he racked his brain for a quick and painless way to end the evening. 

Just as he was a few feet from the table, an idea popped into his head and the boy’s face lit up as he spotted Minghao. The expression soon faded, however, when the brunette didn’t smile back. 

“Hey,” Minghao said, accent extremely strong as his nerves kicked in. “Are you Chan?” 

“Yeah?” he replied and, Minghao winced, he even sounded like he was a prepubescent teenager. This date was definitely not going to happen. 

“I’m really sorry to have to be the one to tell you this,” the brunette began his lie, licking his lips so they weren’t dry, “but Minghao asked me to come and meet you to tell you that he can’t make it.” 

Chan’s face drooped as he looked up at Minghao. “Oh. Okay. Does he want to arrange it for another time?” He sounded so hopeful underneath his obvious disappointment that something in the brunette’s chest twisted painfully. He was an awful human being.

“If I’m being completely honest with you, I think he’s still pretty hung up on the guy he dated a few years ago. He was just doing Soonyoung a favour by agreeing to this date.” Minghao pressed his lips together into a thin line. “It’s probably best if you don’t try again. He’s not interested, he’s not worth the trouble and you’ll just end up hurt.”

Putting himself down a little strangely made Minghao feel a little bit better about the whole situation, despite the crushing look on Chan’s face. But, the shorter boy nodded and gave Minghao a grateful smile before he got up, shoved his hands into his pockets and left the bar. The brunette let out a sigh of relief once the coast was clear and slumped down into the booth that had just previously been occupied.

A minute with his head in his hands calmed Minghao to the point where he felt good enough to make a trip to the bar; he felt even better still when he noticed a tall black-haired bartender tripping out of the staff corridor and behind the bar to start his shift.

As he took his seat at the bar top, a glass filled with his regular non-alcoholic drink was placed down in front of him without a word uttered from his mouth. Minghao trailed his eyes up the arm that had put the glass down until he met Mingyu’s gaze, a small but sorry smile coaxing at his lips.

“Thanks.” Minghao nodded in appreciation, taking the straw in his teeth before taking a sip of the drink.

“Four not the one either?” Minghao shook his head at Mingyu’s question, running a hand over his face with a sigh. “Well, if you want to talk about it…”

“I’m starting to think there really isn’t anyone out there for me.” The laugh that left the brunette’s throat was hoarse and completely fake, not reaching his eyes at all as he downed the drink that was in front of him. He glanced back up at the taller boy as Minghao set the glass back on the table; Mingyu’s lips were slightly parted like he wanted to say something else. But, the look in Minghao’s eye confirmed to him that it was best to choose his next words carefully, as much of it the brunette wouldn’t believe. 

“For some people it just takes a little longer to find that someone that’s right for you.” Mingyu’s soft smile made something catch in Minghao’s throat and he blinked a few times in response. Did he just… flirt? No, definitely not. That was just Mingyu being supportive, looking at him sympathetically and giving him the same words of encouragement he always did. 

“Was this one too emotional, too timid or too shallow?” Mingyu added, refilling the glass as Minghao let out a small chuckle and ran his hands through his hair, proceeding to tell the boy everything.

It was in the silence of his tiny apartment about two hours later that Minghao started to question himself and his motives. He pondered, just when he had started to talk to Mingyu as if they’d been friends for years? It was so easy with him. His heart clenched painfully in his chest, already knowing the answer, but Minghao ignored it and buried it ruthlessly in the back of his mind. That wasn’t happening. It just wasn’t.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Soonyoung had been devastated that both of his two date options had failed to be compatible with Minghao, but when the news reached Junhui he was ecstatic he had the chance to shine with his last choice of date for the brunette. Seeing as it was Jun, Minghao had very low expectations for whomever the boy had picked, and he just hoped he could get out of the date as soon as possible. 

As it turned out, surprisingly, Wonwoo was a nice and respectable guy, if extremely bland. He was a law student and worked as an assistant to a lawyer at a firm for a bit of extra money, and he made sure Minghao knew that very early on in their date as they sat at a table in Mingyu’s bar. Apparently, the tall boy knew he wasn’t the most exciting guy and tried to joke about it as much as possible, pushing his round, wire-framed glasses up his nose. He was very good-looking and quite funny in a dry way, and he made Minghao laugh with the self-deprecating humour, but there was just no spark between them whatsoever. 

Minghao knew instantly this guy just wasn’t his type, the most exciting thing in Wonwoo’s life currently being the ‘Records of the Three Kingdoms’ history books he was reading. Whilst the brunette was flattered the boy cared so much about Chinese history, listening to his date talk endlessly on the subject made his eyes droop. He wasn’t interested in dance, he found out quickly as well, leaving them with little to no common interests.

He liked to read, but not the same books Wonwoo was interested in. Minghao preferred TV shows, whereas his date preferred movies. He also hated cold noodle soup, which apparently, Wonwoo adored. As a dance teacher and a law student, they were in two completely opposite worlds. Both romantically and sexually, Minghao could very well have been on a date with a long lost brother he previously hadn’t known existed, and he wrinkled up his nose in response.

“I’m not usually the type to go on spontaneous, blind dates like this,” Wonwoo chuckled, fingers tapping at the table where his beer and Minghao’s glass of cola sat. Minghao forced a toothy smile, nodding as he kept looking over at the bar top for some sort of help from his fairy godmother. “It’s very exciting stepping out of my comfort zone.” 

Minghao let out a small laugh in response, nodding. It was clear to see that, unlike the brunette, Wonwoo was very attracted to him as he shyly shifted his chair closer to him, knees touching not so subtly. Minghao cleared his throat in an attempt to draw attention to the fact that he didn’t want the physical contact the boy was attempting to make. He didn’t think the older boy was the type to make a huge move on him, so he felt less anxious about the scenario. Still, he continued to glance over at the bar, wishing Mingyu would turn around from where he stood preparing a flirty girl’s cocktail.

“You’re a lot nicer than Junhui made you out to be, you know. I was a little worried when coming here.” Wonwoo started up a conversation again, voice deep but soft. “But you know what they say, never judge a book by its cover.” 

“Again with the books,” Minghao mumbled, not realising it was loud enough for his date to hear as he rolled his eyes and turned to him.

“Did you want me to recommend you some?” He lit up, hand grabbing at Minghao’s leg under the table to the point the brunette jolted up a little in his seat. “I mean, I mostly read law and history books, but I’ve read five really great novels in the past two weeks—so little compared to my past twelve, I _know_ —but there’s this really great one by this Mexican writer called Benjamin Alire Sáenz, and another one that I think inspired this drama and…” 

Minghao wished he had the confidence to tell the guy to shut up like he had when he was with is friends, but he barely knew the guy, and he didn’t have it in him to just turn to the guy and tell him to go home back to his books, as obviously, they were his true love. I mean really, who cared that much about how beautiful the binding and spine of his first edition novels were? The guy was gushing over them like he had just gotten engaged. His patience was wearing thin hearing the boy spout more and more novel titles in his ear until finally Mingyu glanced over at him and caught sight of the brunette’s pleading eyes. He returned the stare with a questioning look, but all Minghao could do was bug his eyes a little, shrug his shoulders and signal with his head that he really had no idea what to do here.

As if someone was gracefully looking down on him, Wonwoo soon realised that he had consumed a little too much liquid and excused himself to go to the bathroom to relieve himself. Minghao saw the moment alone as an opportunity to scramble towards the bar where Mingyu was waiting, arms crossed on the bar top.

“Everything okay over there?” he greeted Minghao who just shook his head, hair splaying out.

“Can you actually die of boredom? Y’know, like how the saying goes?” Minghao leant forward on the bar, a few inches between their faces.

Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed and he tilted his head a little. He tried to hold back a laugh, but Minghao could only glare at him. “I beg your pardon?”

“I think what I said is pretty self-explanatory, Mingyu!” He hissed, looking back over his shoulder to see that the boy still hadn’t returned, but no doubt he would shortly. “The guy is a law student obsessed with books and I’m pretty sure he almost just got off at the thought of this leather-bound history book he owns and… I’m so close to just falling asleep and not waking up at that table. One more word about books—that’s all it will take!”

He threw his hands up in the air and watched as the taller boy burst into a fit of laughter, holding his stomach, teeth on full show. Whereas Minghao would have been extremely offended if any of his friends had laughed at him in such a dire situation, he couldn’t feel that way about Mingyu when he was such a beautiful sight to behold. His laugh was also extremely infectious and Minghao had to rub at his cheek and chin to stop his mouth from twitching up into any more of a smile.

“I sound really selfish when I retell it,” he sighed, lowering his head a little at his reality check. “He’s just talking about his interests after all. But I just… can’t.”

“He’s not the one, then?” Mingyu raised an eyebrow, already knowing the answer, arms unfolding slowly from the countertop. Minghao let out a short breath of laughter and shook his head, looking back up at him when Mingyu smiled at him. “Good.”

Then, before Minghao could process what was happening, Mingyu leant over the bar, placed one of his hands on the brunette’s cheek and tipped his head up before their lips met in a soft kiss.

Minghao froze and made a small noise as he stopped breathing before his brain rebooted and realised exactly what was happening right then. Mingyu was kissing him. Mingyu was kissing him! Mingyu was kissing him and despite how soft and chaste it was, it felt better than any kiss Minghao had ever shared in his life. His eyes drooped shut and, out of pure instinct, his own hand slid into the back of Mingyu’s hair, drawing him in closer so they could deepen the kiss slightly.

If he wasn’t mistaken, Mingyu’s breath hitched just slightly, for a split second, before his mouth opened as well. The brunette wasn’t daring enough to go any further, not in a public bar, but they shared a few hot breaths and the world seemed to narrow down to just the press of their lips. It was blissful, and his fingers caressed and curled into his hair further, anticipating the moment Mingyu would allow their tongues to touch and… how on earth did they get to this moment? Minghao had told himself that this route was forbidden. He had told himself to be strong, but he was the definition of weak under Mingyu’s touch.

“M-Minghao?”

Over in a split second, Minghao pulled back from Mingyu as if he had been slapped right across the face. For a moment he couldn’t do anything but catch his breath and stare solely at Mingyu’s red, plump, wet lips, wanting more than anything to slide across that bar and devour his mouth.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Mingyu said, swallowing. Again, Minghao couldn’t tear his eyes away from his mouth because _why the fuck_ were _they not still kissing?_ “Minghao and I… we go way back. We used to date, actually, and when I saw him over there with you at that table, I realised that I didn’t want him to be with anyone else but me. I should never have let him go. I got jealous and when he came to order another drink, I told him that I still wanted him and… I’m sorry. I didn’t want to ruin your date.”

Minghao blinked thrice, trying to compute what Mingyu was saying. Dated? Jealous? When reality finally kicked in and what the bartender was saying clicked in his fuzzy mind, he looked up to see Mingyu was staring apologetically at someone just behind him. From this distance, Minghao could see the light embarrassed blush painting the boy’s cheeks, and it took all his strength to turn away from such an adorable sight, just to glance over his shoulder and see that Wonwoo had reappeared from the bathroom. He looked shocked and crestfallen, and Minghao should have cared and been apologetic but he was still reeling over the fact that Mingyu had kissed him and told Wonwoo that they used to… oh. _Oh!_ It was all a ploy to get him out of his absolutely dire dare with Wonwoo.

Suddenly the whole situation with the kiss wasn’t as beautiful as he had believed, dissolving to the realisation that it hadn’t been real. Much to his disappointment and chagrin.

But, Wonwoo had bought it, shuffling his feet on the floor as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Suddenly, Minghao felt utterly terrible. Just a little while ago the boy had told him that he had really tried to step out of his usual introverted comfort zone to try and get to know Minghao, only to see his date for the evening end up kissing another guy. Okay, he didn’t feel that terrible in regards to the kiss, but knocking Wonwoo’s confidence was something he had never intended to do.

“I’m sorry, Wonwoo. I still have feelings for Mingyu, and I really didn’t want you to get hurt.” His lip quivered as he told the truth; glad that the bartender couldn’t see his face at that moment.

The boy pushed his glasses up his nose but shrugged, clearly embarrassed to still be stood in front of him. Still, Wonwoo brushed it off with a wave of his hand and a small, sad smile. “Don’t worry about it. I’m, uh, glad you two have rekindled the flame and whatever. It was nice to meet you, Minghao.”

Wonwoo gave one final nod at the pair of them before he shuffled quickly back to their table, swiping up his long trench coat before he made a quick exit for the door. Minghao watched his every step until he was out of sight, and apparently out of mind, as he bit his lip momentarily before turning back to face Mingyu.

It was fair to say that the boy looked uncomfortable when their eyes locked briefly, tearing his gaze to the counter top he had begun to polish with a cloth from behind the bar. Minghao wished he could find the words to start the conversation, but he couldn’t as Mingyu licked his lips—he’d tasted those very lips only moments ago, felt them move against his own—and paused his cleaning before mumbling, “I’m sorry.” 

His heart thumped hard in his chest and Minghao felt as if he were on a rollercoaster as his stomach somersaulted, making him feel queasy for just a split second, as he was so overwhelmed by the entire situation. Again, no words made it past his open lips. 

“I know I should have asked you before I kissed you like that, but I didn’t have the time nor could I think of any other way to get you away from him because he was stood right there. I’m just sor—”

“Mingyu,” Minghao managed to breathe out without sounding too flustered, stopping the boy from apologising again, mid-sentence. He tried to ignore Mingyu’s fingers running through his black hair, pushing away the thoughts of his own fingers being tangled in his locks only minutes ago. “It’s fine. It’s all fine.” 

Mingyu nodded and smiled very briefly at the brunette before his hands clenched into the cloth he was holding. A glance to his side, Mingyu waved in the direction he was looking with a scrunch of his nose. “I, uh, have to get back to work and, uh—”

When he was certain Mingyu’s sentence had trailed to an incomplete end, he nodded in understanding, waving his own hand in the direction the bartender had. “Go ahead. Don’t let me keep you, _Batman_.”

He tried not to feel hurt when he received little more than a small twitch of the boy’s lips in response to their inside joke ( _they had inside jokes!_ ) before he hurried away to serve one lonely customer, a customer that his colleague down that end of the bar could easily have handled. Minghao chewed on the inside of his cheek, staring at his back, trying to read whether or not he would be able to speak to Mingyu again that evening.

After waiting ten minutes to no avail, he gave a heavy sigh and called over a staff member so he was able to pay for all the drinks that both he and Wonwoo had consumed that evening, heart heavy in his chest. With everything paid, Minghao steeled himself before turning on his heels to grab the coat he had abandoned momentarily at his previous table, slipping it on easily as he made his way towards the exit without a glance backwards at the bar top.

Mingyu didn’t want him. It was that simple, he told himself. Mingyu was a nice guy, lending him a hand to get him out of sticky or uncomfortable situations. He would never in a million years be interested in a guy like him—not only was the guy probably, maybe straight (although Minghao’s brain whirred with questions after this evening), he was also unbelievably gorgeous and Minghao just… wasn’t. He was all arms, legs and neck whereas the bartender was broad and tall and unfairly gorgeous to the point his heart thudded painfully in his chest again. He didn’t want him; Minghao told himself again as he pulled his coat tight around him in the cold air as he began his long walk home, he didn’t want him just like Hansol hadn’t wanted him and _every other guy he had ever been interested in_ hadn’t wanted him.

He was just that: unwanted. Really, he just had to grow up and stop hoping for hopeless things. It was just a shame his heart wasn’t quite up to speed with his brain, as it ached at every thought of Mingyu that crossed his mind as Minghao walked home that evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't believe i wrote this chapter on mine/seungkwan's birthday. what a great use of my time djhbsknal 
> 
> i hope this chapter is enjoyable, because i had a lot of fun thinking up chan and wonwoo's dates (i'm sorry i slandered you so much wonwoo i love books too) and yeah. not a very exciting chapter im sure :)  
> hopefully i'll be able to update again soon! 
> 
> also, the book wonwoo was recommending? aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe. y'all should check it out, just, because :)
> 
> thank you as always for reading and leaving any comments. much love ♡♡


	5. five.

The incident that had occurred that Friday played over and over in Minghao’s mind, much like a scratched cd that refused to play anything other than the chorus. He often found himself subconsciously touching his lips with the pads of his fingertips as the memory played; until one of his students asked him if they could go over the move they had just learnt with their nunchucks again. He obliged; he wasn’t getting paid to stand around and daydream about gorgeous bartenders after all.

Still, Minghao looked at the event from every possible angle, whether he was travelling to and from work, was sat in Jeonghan’s living room or was tucked up cosily in the warmth of his bed; he still couldn’t make complete sense of it. He supposed that in the spur of the moment, Mingyu’s reasoning as to why he had kissed him made a modicum of sense, but the more he questioned, the more he realised it was very strange for a straight guy to try and deter the advances of an undesirable date by kissing another guy. The whole thing just added to the growing thought that Mingyu had been flirting with him for a while now, and it made Minghao’s stomach flutter.

With his thoughts so occupied with a certain tall, dark male bartender, Minghao was unable to think rationally on other matters, so he had made the mistake of telling Junhui that the date with Wonwoo had been a bust… which meant that Jeonghan smugly and promptly set him up with his last date of the batch. 

“There’s really no need, Jeonghan—I can’t see this going any better than—” 

“Nonsense!” Jeonghan cut him off, wine glass in his hand as he curled his legs under him on his fabric sofa, leaning back against Jisoo’s chest as he lay behind him. “You said you would see this through and I’m tired of your attempts to back out of it.”

“I’ve gone through with them all, haven’t I?” Minghao protested, raising his voice, eyebrows furrowed and tone disbelieving. “Enough with making me look like the bad guy when you three bombarded me with this idea.”

“It’s the last date!” Jeonghan laughed in his own disbelief, throwing his hands up. The wine in his glass sloshed around, almost spilling over the side of the glass, and Minghao’s eyes followed it instead of meeting his friend’s gaze.

“It _is_ the last date,” Junhui repeated, nodding from where he sat on the floor, legs crossed, bowls of crisps and other nibbles in front of him. Soonyoung had both his hands in the bowls after telling them that he hadn’t had the chance to eat that day, stacking his lap full of food. “After this, if it doesn’t go well, it’s all over and we leave your dating life alone—just as we promised.”

Minghao’s brown eyes darted between the boys in Jeonghan’s living room, internally screaming at himself for being so stupid as to go along with their plans for the umpteenth time since they had began this game. No matter how much he refused, he knew he had no choice but to finish what he’d started. It irritated him more now than it had before however, as he had kissed Mingyu and Mingyu had kissed him back and he really wanted to see if that could go anywhere, and on the other hand, he really was getting tired of dating completely unsuitable strangers week after week. But, they didn’t want to hear it.

“Give Minghao a break, Han.” Jisoo said calmly, his hand gently caressing Jeonghan’s arm as the boy leant back against him. “You can’t blame him for getting a bit annoyed after all his previous dates going wrong.” Minghao looked at the older boy, a small smile forming on his lips for the first time that evening, Jisoo smiling back with kind eyes and a nod. “I tried my hardest to help him set up the final date, Minghao, but even though apparently I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to him, he still won’t take my advice.”

“It would be cheating!” Jeonghan whined, earning a giggle from Soonyoung and Junhui on the floor.

“I’m just trying to lend a helping hand, especially since the guy my cousin and I know seems like he’d really get on with Minghao and—” 

Minghao didn’t get to hear the rest of what Jisoo was saying as Jeonghan turned around, interrupted him and began to talk over the top of his boyfriend, all whilst Junhui began to argue with Soonyoung over the prospect of sharing the food. The brunette rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, sinking down into the sofa with a groan. How did he end up with such insufferable friends?

So, Minghao was once again stuck with the contact details of yet another stranger he had no doubt he wouldn’t match with at all. _What sort of a nickname was DK anyway?_ he thought, sighing as he ran his hand through his sweaty hair, walking out of Soonyoung’s studio’s the next day, a Tuesday afternoon. Jeonghan had boasted that this guy would be the one, would break the streak of unbearable dates because he couldn’t think of a single reason to hate the guy. Minghao still had his doubts.

He readjusted the gym bag on his shoulder, hoping to make it home fast so he could have a nice evening shower before bed; fates however seemed to be against him (or maybe on his side), as before Minghao could take more than a single step away from the building, he was stopped by his name being called. 

“Minghao?” The voice repeated and the brunette turned on his heels seamlessly, faltering only when he saw whom it was who was approaching him, toothy grin on show. _Fuck_.

It was strange not to be situated in the bar, countertop separating the two as Minghao stared up at Mingyu’s face, heart beating too hard in his chest (and it wasn’t from the dancing he had done prior, that much he knew). Words seemed to fail him nonetheless and Minghao knew how out of character he was being. Around his friends he yapped on endlessly and argumentatively, but around Mingyu, his mind was a blur. _He was just a boy, for Christ Sake_ , he told himself silently, _get a grip!_

“Is this your studio?” Mingyu continued to smile, looking up at the building Minghao had just exited. The brunette swallowed, tearing his eyes from the boy’s neck as he took in his non-work clothes. He looked great in the long brown coat and striped shirt he wore, and suddenly it clicked that Minghao hadn’t responded to the question.

“Yeah—I mean, it’s not my studio, it’s my friend’s—he lets me dance in here—oh, I also teach—Wushu and dance, but you already knew, that so I guess, yeah, it’s kind of mine but it isn’t really and…yeah…” Minghao babbled, tripping through his Korean in his flustered state as he watched Mingyu chuckle a little, broad shoulders moving up and down as he did. Minghao ran a hand through his hair again, hoping his cheeks weren’t flushing too deep of a crimson.

All the thoughts and preparation Minghao had ran through in his mind to confront Mingyu about their kiss at the bar dissolved in that moment, just appreciating seeing the boy so unexpectedly, and out of their regular meeting place. Mingyu looked once more from the building back to Minghao, and the brunette couldn’t help but feel dirty in his tracksuit bottoms and loose shirt he had danced in. He should have just had a shower inside, he cursed himself, despite hating the communal washrooms.

“I’d really love to see where you work since you know my workplace,” Mingyu surprised him again, adjusting his own bag over his shoulder, the leather satchel hanging by his hip. 

“It’s a series of termly payments for both dance and martial arts classes,” Minghao managed to say, tone a little more like himself as he joked with the taller boy. “Trial sessions are usually free and get a tour of the building, but not for punks I don’t like the look of.”

Scoffing, Mingyu raised his eyebrows. “Punk?”

“You heard me.” Minghao tried to remain serious, but a small smile played at his lips. “But I do make exceptions. Especially for people who have my back. Would you like a quick look around?”

“As much as I would love to, I can’t right now.” Mingyu’s face fell and disappointment filled Minghao’s own expression as he watched the boy move about on the spot. “I’m already late for my lecture which is halfway across town with my very angry best friend, and although this chat has hindered me a bit more, I really can’t waste anymore time. My best friend, she’s vicious when she’s angry. I’m sorry.”

Minghao shook his head and waved his hand about, dismissing the boy’s statement with a tut. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Some other time, maybe?”

Minghao looked into Mingyu’s puppy dog eyes, the pupils glinting as he looked at him with a hopeful expression. The brunette steeled himself and sucked in a breath, nodding before he knew he was doing it. 

“Sure.” 

“Fantastic.”

There was a silence between them, despite Mingyu’s seeming urgency, and he didn’t move from his spot; neither did Minghao, hoping he could pluck up the courage to ask him just what the hell that kiss was about and—

“I’ll see you on Friday?” Mingyu broke his thoughts again, a nasty habit the boy seemed to have, even when Minghao was thinking about him.

“Yeah… it’s my final date of the bunch,” he let out a small humourless laugh, noticing Mingyu’s lips twitch a little around his smile.

“Oh. Well, good luck.” He stepped forward, finally continuing his journey to his lesson, but Minghao felt an unexpected grip at the top of his arm as the black haired boy held him and leaned into his ear to whisper, “I really hope he’s the right one.” 

Minghao didn’t have the strength to face Mingyu as his hand left his arm and the boy walked away, trying to pick up his footsteps amongst the noises of the cars and other people walking along the pathways. He let out a long breath and ran his hands through his hair a final time, headed straight back to his apartment to cool off and still his beating mind… and heart. 

But, because Minghao was… well, Minghao, he decided that his little pity party wouldn’t last past that day as he shook himself out of his funk. So what if Mingyu had been his usual polite, sweet, kind self after giving Minghao a kiss he would forever measure other kisses against? So what if Minghao was the only flustered one? Mingyu might think he was straight, but no straight guy responded to a kiss the way he did when their head was grabbed and pulled in for more, even the really helpful ones who put up a front of being someone’s fake boyfriend. None of it added up in Minghao’s head, gritting his teeth as he came to that conclusion. 

When it got to Thursday, Minghao had almost forgotten that Jeonghan had set him up with another guy for the following day, only reminded when the guy rang him up to confirm their date. He _sounded_ nice, at any rate, and his voice was very melodic. Still, as he agreed the time and meeting place, his thoughts were preoccupied with Mingyu, and the slight possibility that he might like Minghao _like that_. He groaned in self pity once he had hung up, tired of all this dating bullshit, even if this finally was the last one. He could sit through this final date and then that would be it, no problem.

But, as Friday finally rolled around, he was exhausted and even more not in the mood for a date than usual. Minghao gritted his teeth however, showered and dressed up, keeping in mind that he just had to get this date over with and then he could talk to Mingyu and maybe, just maybe, they could get a real date started.

As he set off on his journey towards the bar—slightly later than his usual meeting time due to his date’s choir schedule or something—all Minghao could think about was how to approach Mingyu and finally confront him. He ran a hand over his forehead and then rubbed his temples, hoping that the aching behind his eyelids wasn’t the start of a headache he’d have to endure alongside a date this evening. He just hoped that the guy Jeonghan had set up with him wasn’t a complete creep.

The air was chilly and Minghao found himself wishing he had brought a warmer coat than just his thin, pink denim one as he approached the bar; someone’s laugh rang out into the darkness and Minghao looked up, stopping and shivering where he stood. He was still at the end of the street, a fair distance from where the bar sat at the opposite end of the road, but he could see a couple standing at the front doors, hugging. Minghao tried to get a sudden bitter taste out of his mouth, carrying on his walk, but with less haste. The woman’s back was facing Minghao and in the darkness, he could just about make out one further figure stood off to the side that overlooked the pair, but not his features. 

Minghao squinted at them in the dim lighting from the street lamps, wondering if he had seen any of them before, but it was too dark to tell if he did recognise any of the three of them. The couple separated after a moment and she gave her companion a kiss on the mouth, then let go of him and took a step back, the boy’s features now visible against the lighting of the bar’s sign. 

It was Mingyu.

He was smiling at her—at least, Minghao thought it was smiling, it really was hard to tell in the lighting and from the distance he stood—and he clearly didn’t mind her attentions as the girl tapped his cheek lightly and affectionately with her hand, before he raised his own to the back of his neck. He turned to the side to pat the other guy on the shoulder as the girl joined his side and they began to walk away down the street; waving over her shoulder she shouted, “I love you!”

Mingyu laughed his intoxicating, sweet laugh that made Minghao’s heart clench and shouted back, “Right back at you!” before the brunette witnessed him turn and walk back into the bar, disappearing from sight. None of them had noticed Minghao in the middle of the pathway, frozen where he was stood, both from the cold and what he had just witnessed. 

Mingyu had a girlfriend. Mingyu had a girlfriend who was affectionate and whom he obviously loved and, hell, Minghao could never compete against a woman. He blinked a few times, swallowing as he came back to reality and moved to lean his back against the brick wall beside him; running a hand through his hair, the hope he’d been building up for he and Mingyu to become something more than they were completely shattered, leaving him to take deep, destroyed breaths. He never cried, refused to, even when he left his parents at the airport to make his journey to Korea to live and study, so he damn well wasn’t going to cry now over some guy who’d never even told Minghao he liked him that way—he had read into it too much, he was so unbelievably stupid. 

Still, it took the brunette almost a good ten minutes to compose himself and even his breathing, before he felt enough like his normal self to enter the bar and meet his date. The sight had knocked his confidence, sure but he still had to face an evening with… 

The words clicked in his mind. His date. Oh, Christ, how the hell was he supposed to sit through an evening of mindless chatter now? He hated it but Mingyu was going to be clawing at the back of his mind, especially with the guy working as the bartender there. 

Even still, Minghao opened the door of the bar once he reached it and pushed himself to just go in and find his date, getting the whole evening out of the way so he never had to set foot in there again. Or, less than he had been going there, because the bar really was a lovely place to be and Minghao couldn’t just let it go, despite how much he wanted to. His eyes scanned the dim room and it’s dark wooden furniture, occupied by various groups that drowned out the background music coming from the speakers at the stage. His eyes landed on a guy that resembled the vague description Jeonghan had given him as he had told him that he could be the one: he had dyed brown hair, deep tanned skin and his nose structure was very striking. The guy wasn’t smiling, but Minghao had been told to bring sunglasses by his friend for when he did, all to which the brunette had rolled his eyes at.

He could do this, he nodded to himself. At least the guy was attractive. Shallow, he knew, but Minghao put on a small smile as he made his way towards his date, refusing to look over at the bar to see if Mingyu was there. The guy politely standing as he approached was enough to keep his attention, and Minghao slid off his coat as he slid into the seat opposite his date. 

“DK?” He asked, just to be sure he actually had approached the right guy.

“That’s me—well, that’s what Jeonghan calls me.” The guy nodded and retook his seat, outstretching his hand towards the brunette. “It’s Lee Seokmin, actually. And you’re Minghao.”

Seokmin—he liked that a lot more than DK. Minghao’s staged smile actually reached his eyes as he heard the boy’s melodic, smooth voice from over the phone now say his name in person. He nodded back and quickly pulled his hand out from under the table, sliding his slender hand into the boy’s long, sculpted ones. His grip was firm but it seemed as if his fingers curled gently around Minghao’s, easing some of the tension he felt in his bones. He looked down at their connected hands before they parted and he told himself, yes, he could definitely do this. 

“Yes, that’s me.” His voice was unusually shaky, accent seeping through as he tried to steady himself whilst he looked at the boy before him, dressed in a blue shirt and a warm gaze. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting, I had a few last minute things to do before I made my way here.” Probably best Seokmin didn’t know the truth about the real cause for his delayed entrance, happening just outside of the four walls of the bar. “You managed to find this place then?” 

“Don’t worry, it happens,” the corners of the boy’s lips turned up and he ran a hand over his chin before letting his head rest on his palm. “My phone directed me to a dead end about a street away, but _tada!_ ” Seokmin splayed his fingers out in a momentary gesture, smile spreading across his face as his eyes wrinkled and almost disappeared. Minghao realised why Jeonghan had suggested he brought sunglasses; the dark bar lit up with his just the help of his smile. “Here I am!” 

Seokmin really was quite attractive, even more so once he had seen the boy beaming at him from across the table. Minghao was told that he was born and raised in Suji-gu and Seoul, where he had remained most of his life, and that he had an older sister who was the only person in the world that laughed at his jokes (which, fortunately, brought a laugh out of Minghao himself). He told Minghao that he had dated both girls and guys in the past, but his preference was stronger towards the latter, and that it was an accident that he and Jeonghan had become friends. All in all, Seokmin was very polite, drawing out laughs from the brunette at random points, and his life was very interesting—another plus was that he listened to Minghao when he spoke and seemed genuinely interested in his life both when he was back in China and recently in Korea. It was nice.

But, as Minghao finished up the drink that Seokmin had ordered for him, laughing a little at a story the boy was telling him, the brunette realised that he wasn’t Mingyu. 

Minghao had spotted him at one point, working behind the counter, serving customers with a wide toothy grin on his face. He’d caught his eye only briefly, and smiled reassuringly to tell him the date was going well, so he wasn’t needed and Mingyu nodded before getting back to work.

It dawned on him then that nobody would ever be Mingyu, and he had to let that go. Seokmin was perfectly nice, funny, and handsome and for the first time in the long stream of dates, he found himself enjoying himself. He would never have Mingyu, and he was just punishing himself by being at his workplace, not giving his date a full chance with him nagging at the back of his mind. He could be happy, he could come to let this little crush he had on Mingyu fade and he could see him as a friend. He just had to let him go. 

“So that’s when the whole class pointed at me, and I thought maybe they wanted me to do my horse impression again, so I did. Little did I know that the horse had come loose from the bridle I was holding as the instructor was speaking, and my teacher was running after it screaming,” Seokmin said at one point, enthusiastically reminiscing the school trip he had gone on in tenth grade, where he had accidentally let one of the horses at the nature reserve wild about the centre. Minghao’s sides ached from laughing so hard, having to nestle his face into his crossed arms on the table to muffle the giggles escaping his mouth. 

“My teacher only ended up getting chased by it and I think it scarred her for life,” Seokmin continued, own smile plastered across his face. “Safe to say I was never allowed to volunteer for demonstrations again, but on the bright side my impression always got a huge laugh out of it due to the story.”

The chuckle that constantly resonated in the older boy’s voice meant that Minghao almost had tears in his eyes by the end of the story, the pair of them just sat there letting the giggles wash over them after the boy showed him his impression. With a huge sigh, Seokmin finished the last of his drink and ruffled his hair with the same beaming smile plastered on his face. Minghao smiled warmly at him, twiddling the hoop earring he had in his left ear to feel less flustered under Seokmin’s gaze. 

Minghao had a pleasant evening all in all, and when they said goodbye at around eleven o’clock, he meant it when he said that he had had a good time. His smile, however, might have been overcompensating for the fact Seokmin wasn’t the exact person he wanted, but he kept it up nonetheless. He could tell Seokmin was holding back a lot of his confidence throughout the night, but Minghao caught onto the extent of how confident he really was when he leant in to place a kiss on Minghao’s cheek without hesitation. The farewell was sweet and Minghao placed a hand on his cheek where the boy’s lips had touched it as the brunette disappeared, leaving him to make his way slowly towards the bar. 

Sliding into a stool, Minghao glanced over at Mingyu who was finishing up serving a fairly drunk customer. He caught the taller boy’s eye and nodded slightly, moving his gaze to his fingers drumming at the counter top as Mingyu made his way over shortly after. 

“So, how did that go?” Mingyu asked as soon as he was in front of Minghao, glass already in hand to pour him his regular fizzy drink. Minghao watched his hands, unable to look up at his face just yet, admiring how different they were from his own and Seokmin’s. Their hands were long and slender, beautiful and certain in their movements; Mingyu’s were a lot thicker, fingers shorter but stronger as they curled around the glass. 

Minghao blinked thrice to snap himself out of his wandering thoughts, finally meeting the bartender’s eyes with hesitation. “I actually think it went really well.”

Mingyu had a strange expression on his face, one which Minghao couldn’t decipher as the boy placed the drink in front of him and cleared his throat, turning to sort out the alcohols on the shelf behind. “Not emotional, boring or too young?”

Met with the sight of the boy’s broad back, Minghao gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “No, he was perfectly charming and… I think he actually might be the one.”

When his comment was met with silence aside from the background noise in the bar, he frowned and reopened his eyes to see Mingyu stood frozen to the spot. He couldn’t see the boy’s face in the reflective wall due to his broad build blocking the view, but as he was about to ask if he was all right, Mingyu turned wearing a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“Really?” 

Minghao nodded and took a sip of his drink. “Last date of the lot, who would have thought? I was really starting to believe that I would never meet anyone at this point, but he’s nice and funny and I like him.” 

“I’m happy for you,” Mingyu said after a brief pause, smile finally warming up as their eyes met again. “You deserve every happiness, Minghao.”

“Thank you,” he replied, willing his body to do him a favour and not make him flush the shade of a tomato as he spoke as evenly as he could. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest; if only that would stop happening too and go back to normal, he would be just fine. “I think, um, the next date won’t be here. We’ll probably go to a restaurant—somewhere more,” he swallowed, “romantic than here. It’ll be a nice change.”

His attempt at joking with Mingyu apparently paid off, the fake smile on Minghao’s face transforming into a real, yet shy grin at the sight of Mingyu’s offended expression.

“You’re calling the Bat-cave unromantic? I’ll have you know, this place is the epitome of romance.”

A small wince, lips pulled tight into a grimace, Minghao responded, “I wouldn’t call it the epitome when I’ve been through so many horrific dates here.”

“Ah, but you succeeded in the end—and that’s what counts.” Mingyu nodded, trying seriously to defend his beloved workplace as Minghao held in a chuckle at the sight of how flustered he was. 

“Yeah,” he nodded, amusement fading slightly as he realised what was about to happen. He took another deep breath; smile still light on his lips, but barely. “Thank you for all your help, Mingyu.”

Mingyu shook his head, leaning closer on the counter. “For what? As much as I love receiving compliments from stuck up guys like you, I really didn’t do anything.” 

“You were there for me,” Minghao ignored the further attempt to joke, tone serious. “Knowing that someone had my back was… well, it meant a lot to me, so thanks for that.”

“Anytime. Though, you said it yourself: you could have handled it if it got physical,” the black-haired boy nodded. “But it’s always nice to have someone on your side.” 

Minghao could tell that Mingyu wanted to say something else on top of just that, lips twitching around his smile as he held his gaze. He thought, maybe, he should reach out, touch him, even if it were just a pat on the arm as a friendly affirming gesture; the trance was broken when someone down the bar called for Mingyu to serve him. The pair looked at the man and his friends before looking slowly back at one another. This was it, Minghao breathed out.

“I have to, uh…” Mingyu waved at the guy and the brunette nodded, taking a sip of his own drink. The bartender smirked, a hint of sadness there as he began to move away slowly. “I’ll see you around… Robin.” 

Minghao felt his throat close at the inside joke between the two of them, and the fact he knew that those parting words were a complete and utter lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was a NIGHTMARE to write. i've been distracted trying to piece together all the old fics i posted and it's been so annoying. so, it's kinda all over the place so i apologise for that, but i really hope it's enjoyable!!
> 
> next chapter is either the penultimate or the last (i haven't decided but for now i reckon it'll be two more chapters hence it saying #/7 atm for chapters) and i want to thank everyone who has read/commented/left kudos so far as always. it never goes unappreciated ♡
> 
> i hope you're having a lovely morning/afternoon/evening wherever you are!


	6. six.

“Didn’t I tell you that my last guy would be the one?” Jeonghan cheered, raising his glass from the small kitchen counter he was perched at in his flat. Minghao nodded slowly as he tapped his own drink glass, the wine in it barely touched bar two sips.

“I was pleasantly surprised,” Minghao nodded, voice small as he tried to focus only on Seokmin’s general charm, and not the other underlying reason as to why he had decided so strongly to give the boy a second date.

“It’s a darn miracle,” Junhui called as he entered the kitchen area from Jeonghan’s hallway, after letting himself and Soonyoung in just moments before. “A god damn miracle.”

“It’s not a miracle, and it wasn’t luck either before you make another comment,” Jeonghan twirled his thin finger and pointed at the boys. “I happen to have very good instincts and know Minghao very well, so I put two and two together, that’s all.” 

Minghao turned to acknowledge his friends, giving Soonyoung and Junhui light embraces from where he sat too around the counter top. If anything good were to come out of this, he thought, he would finally stop being the centre of every single one of their conversations. He was tired of being the main actor in this little drama they’d set out for him. 

“If you have such good instincts, why did you not just set him up with this guy first?” Soonyoung raised an eyebrow, pushing his tongue into his cheek as he grabbed Minghao’s drink to take a sip. Junhui let out a snort in response, met with a sneer and fake laugh from Jeonghan who swiped the wine bottle away before the boys could pour themselves anything. 

Feeling someone slide onto the stool next to him, Minghao turned to see Junhui as he draped his arm loosely around the brunette’s shoulders. Minghao sighed, rolled his eyes and attempted to shrug his best friend’s arm off, only to have the boy smile widely and hold him tighter. They ignored the others squabbling just ahead of them.

“So… I just have to ask out of pure curiosity,” the boy started, thinking about his words as Minghao listened, “what exactly did this guy have that my choices didn’t? Jeonghan definitely doesn’t know you better than I do and, if I’m honest, I’m slightly offended by that notion.”

Minghao ran a hand over his face and let out a groan. “The guys you picked just weren’t right, Jun, I told you that.” 

“Yeah, but to choose Jeonghan’s guy over mine? Jeonghan!”

“This wasn’t a competition! Seokmin was nice and I liked him, what else is there to say?”

Junhui huffed out a breath of air, sticking his bottom lip out in a slight pout. “Jihoon was nice too. And Wonwoo.” The boy immediately released Minghao’s shoulder and held up his hands defensively as the brunette glared at him in response. “But, I guess I’m glad this all worked out in the end. It seemed like you were deliberately trying to get out of every date we set you up on—that, or you were just being insufferably annoying, as per usual.”

Preparing to launch an attack on his best friend, Minghao was cut short on his (mostly) playful antics as the others rushed over, wine bottle firmly grasped in Soonyoung’s fist with a triumphant smile on his face.

“Let’s talk about guys.” Jeonghan grinned, pulling at Minghao’s shoulder to guide the group to the living room. “Since Jisoo is out with his cousin and friends we can have a real chat. And this time we’re all drinking—including you, Minghao. We’re celebrating.”

Opening his mouth to protest, both Soonyoung and Junhui began to laugh and nod, poking at Minghao as they all made their way towards Jeonghan’s sofa. The brunette considered using one of the martial arts moves he taught his students to get out of the grip of his friends, but he was already being pushed onto the couch and given a glass full of red liquid as Junhui announced he’d also brought beer.

Thoughts of his past dates came swimming back into his mind as his best friends crowded in beside him, each with their own drinks. The questions thrown at him clouded his thoughts and he replied aimlessly, staring at the drink in his hand.

For once Minghao thought, _what the heck_ , taking a long gulp of the wine.

 

* * *

 

Minghao didn’t not drink because he couldn’t hold his liquor. After years of being the ‘sober’ friend, sure his tolerance was low, but the brunette had always been good at stomaching his alcohol and being able to remain upright for the most of the night, which was more than he could say for Soonyoung who usually toppled over after a single beer.

Lying on Jeonghan’s coach at the fast approaching hour of two in the morning, however, Minghao was staring sadly at the bright light of his phone’s lock screen, index finger circling the top of the beer bottle he had been given fifteen minutes ago—or was it two? He couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter, he thought instead as he took another sip, trying to blur out the sound of Soonyoung and Junhui singing some western song terribly at the top of their lungs (Jeonghan was lucky he currently had no neighbours to file a noise complaint).

Minghao licked his lips, eyes half-lidded, nodding as he decided to finally punch in the password for his phone instead of letting it just hang heavily in his palm. The screen lit up brighter and he hummed subconsciously as he pressed his contacts, beginning to scroll with a heavy heart and blurred vision.

“Whachudoing?” Jeonghan slithered in beside Minghao on the couch, resting his head on the boy’s shoulder, strangely empty-handed. “If you’re planning on calling someone, especially Seokmin, I don’t think that’s the best idea right now with your state.”

“No, not Seokmin.” Minghao stopped at a contact and pressed on it a little too forcefully, letting out a sigh followed by a groan. “I wish I could call him. But I can’t.”

The phone suddenly vanished from the boy’s long fingers, taking him a second to process the loss of the object. Minghao turned his head sloppily to the side, raising the bottle in his hand to his lips once more, letting the bitter taste of the beer fill his taste buds and warm his stomach. 

“You are not calling Hansol, Minghao! What the—why do you even still have this number?” Jeonghan half-yelled in annoyance and confusion, eyebrows furrowed. Minghao should have known his friend would be the most sober out of the four of them at this point. Still, Minghao tried to reach for his phone; his usual reflexes were not quite what they were on a regular basis.

“Give it back, Jeonghan.” He slurred in shaky Korean, trying to quell his anger and misery.

“You have to delete this number.”

“I don’t want to call him. I want to call _him_. But I can’t. I don’t have his number. I only have this one. It’s not him.”

“What are you talking about? You’re not calling Hansol. He’s probably changed his number anyway and it won’t work from Korea.”

None of the words Minghao stumbled over came out in coherent, understandable statements like how they (mostly) were in his head. His tongue kept catching and never quite managed to say Mingyu’s name as Jeonghan moved to place his phone in a place he couldn’t find it for that evening. He couldn’t explain to him that he wanted to talk to Mingyu and tell him how beautiful he was and how he genuinely felt so at ease whenever they were together and that if he was willing he wanted to go out on a date with him. But he didn’t. It was useless, he sulked, slumping lower into the sofa as his body began to feel increasingly heavy; eyelids drooping further as he tried to focus on Junhui now trying to out-dance Soonyoung, Minghao groaned with the feeling of loss of love developing in his stomach.

 

* * *

 

“You’re lucky you work for your totally amazing, understanding best friend who is extremely lenient and sympathetic towards the little hangover you’re nursing there and cancelled your lessons today,” Soonyoung had said the following day as Minghao woke up with a horrific headache and a sour taste on his tongue. He groaned and pulled the pillow over his face, wishing that a dark abyss would suddenly open up underneath where he lay and consume him. He couldn’t remember why he had let himself drink as much as he did, but it didn’t matter. He was never drinking like that again. 

Jeonghan didn’t say much when he returned his phone, and Minghao slowly reverted to his normal self over the course of the next few days, putting himself back into work to drown out his thoughts and the knowledge that he had another date with Seokmin to arrange. 

The boy had been texting him non-stop since their first date—cute little messages that occasionally lit up his phone in his pocket during practice, or vibrated loudly on the table at the local coffee shop if he was meeting up with Junhui. Minghao appreciated the small things like the ‘good morning’ and the ‘good luck at work with your class of misfits’ texts that came spontaneously, and although he was a notoriously bad replier, the brunette forced himself to really try and make an effort with Seokmin. He was a good man as far as he could tell, and he really wanted to give him a chance, even if he wasn’t his initial…

It had been harder than he could have imagined, cutting himself off from the bar and Mingyu, despite it being less than a week since he had decided he couldn’t see the boy again if he wanted to stop this journey down this winding road. He didn’t even know the guy all that well; he’d just been a pretty face behind a bar that had been kind to Minghao when he needed someone. It was kind of sad and said a lot about his life, that a little bit of kindness from a near stranger meant so much to Minghao, that he fell apart a little inside at the prospect of never seeing him again, especially when drunk.

With that, Minghao decided on the Thursday of that week that he was going to be the one to arrange the next date, in hopes of moving things forward, getting to know the boy better and setting off some sort of spark between them that could blossom into a ‘wild, passionate romance’ that Jeonghan kept going on about. It was all a bit fantastical, but he wanted it to happen.

That was how Minghao ended up with Seokmin that Saturday evening in a small pizzeria and bistro, sat at a table with a candle in the centre and a lovely warm, bright atmosphere. It was the complete opposite to the dark interior of the bar in downtown Seoul, and the people around them also seemed a lot different. But despite the brightness, it was strangely less welcoming. Seokmin was still very handsome, very polite and had greeted Minghao with that same smile he was sure could solve all the world’s problems with its pure solar power. When the brunette had texted Seokmin about the possibility of meeting up sooner rather than later, the boy had practically jumped for joy in his reply, exclaiming how he would be honoured to take Minghao to one of his favourite little restaurants that weekend.

“The food is really great here,” Seokmin smiled eagerly from across the table, shuffling restlessly in his seat as Minghao pondered the menu. He wasn’t used to eating pizza that wasn’t take-away and although he wasn’t an extremely picky eater, he didn’t want to order something he wouldn’t like and let his date down. “I get the same thing almost every time. It’s a bad habit but it’s too good not to order.”

“What is it that you’re getting?” Minghao asked, peering up from over his menu. Seokmin leant forward a little, scanned the menu in the brunette’s hands upside down before placing a long finger to his order. “That sounds good. I’ll have that too then.”

Meeting the boy’s eyes, Minghao could see that they were sparkling as Seokmin sat back and nodded. He expected to maybe feel a flutter in his chest at the sight, but he only lowered his head a little until the waiter arrived to take their orders. 

Seeing as it was a place Seokmin frequented, he should have guessed that his date was familiar with most of the staff, but what Minghao didn’t expect was that they were all seemingly close friends and Seokmin was more than happy to start up a conversation about their almost non-existent relationship without a care in the world. 

“We hit it off straight away. I mean, Jeonghan-hyung had told me that he might be a handful and that he had this dark mysterious dating past that I might find hard to break through, but it was nothing like that.” Seokmin laughed at two of the staff that were now crowded around their table, listening to the story of their first date as another grabbed them their drinks before joining them too. Seokmin had told Minghao their names, but the boy was too star-struck to process anything.

 _No_ , Minghao thought, chewing on the inside of his lip as his date talked about him to his friends and not at him in a proper conversation. _This was not how it was supposed to go_. The tiny spark of hope he had had for this date to move onto something further was dimming by the second. Seokmin was so confident and happy to talk about him as if they had been dating for months, not that they had just been on one good date, and it made Minghao feel on edge. He had sensed that the boy was outgoing at the end of their last date, but he thought maybe it was the type of confidence that would let Minghao shine and come out of his shell, not feel drowned in like he did.

The staff appeared frequently throughout the evening to chat, and Minghao was glad that the pizza was indeed as good as Seokmin had said, spending most of his time focused on shoving the food into his mouth. Any questions directed at him from his date, Minghao almost missed as he sank deeper into his own thoughts. He knew by the end of the night that Seokmin wasn’t the one he had hoped for.

Maybe it really was him. Every guy he had dated just wasn’t right for him. He must be cursed.

He ended up paying for the bill out of guilt at the end of the evening; the two of them had stepped out of the bistro—Seokmin with a comforting smile on his face and Minghao hiding his solemn look in the collar of his turtleneck jumper. Seokmin was still talking to Minghao about how much he loved this place and how grateful he was that Jeonghan had suggested the idea of their date in the first place, all of which made Minghao’s heart sink deeper in his chest.

When Seokmin leant forward under the warm glow of the street lamps, face mere inches from Minghao’s with that same twinkle in his eye that apparently never faded, the brunette had never felt worse about turning his head away to the ground.

“Seokmin, I—” he started, swallowing as he looked at their shoes, scuffing his own lightly on the ground, “I don’t think this is going to work. I’m sorry.”

It was clear when their eyes locked that Seokmin was shocked and crushed at the brunette’s statement, as to him the date had been an extreme success. It wasn’t a lie when Minghao told him that they just weren’t right for each other, and when Seokmin asked if he could have one more chance, he thought it was only fair to tell him that he was hung up on this other guy and it wouldn’t be fair to string him along.

“I see,” the taller boy sighed, running a hand through his hair as Minghao continued to stare apologetically at him. “God, he’s one lucky guy. It's not that one that moved whom Jeonghan told me about, right?” 

"No... god, no. Not any more." Minghao shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I really wanted this to work out. You’re everything any sane person would want as a partner, Seokmin. I’m just… obviously not sane.”

A small chuckle escaped the boy’s lips and Minghao felt himself breathe for the first time in an hour at the sound, weight lifting slightly off his chest. Minghao admired how Seokmin continued to smile, like nothing in the world hurt him, and when he reached out to touch Minghao’s shoulder, offering to walk him home, the brunette couldn’t refuse.

They parted ways outside of Minghao’s apartment as friends, and as the brunette sunk into bed thirty minutes later, he knew to set his phone on do not disturb in anticipation of all the angry messages he would receive from Jeonghan and the others in the morning. The only thing he felt bad about was _not_ feeling bad for not giving Seokmin another chance… 

He was right back to where he started over a month ago: single and lonely, now only in desperate need to get over his own feelings as soon as possible. One single kiss had sent him into a pit of despair he was barely managing to claw himself out of. Every smile from any guy sent him right back to his thoughts of that toothy grin and the canine that poked out on the right side of his lip. Any laugh was no match for the chesty chuckle that belonged to the broad, tall man that had been so kind to him.

He was glad that sleep fast approached him, numbing his confused feelings and longing desire for Mingyu’s mouth on his own once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is an absolute mess. it's all over the place and i apologise but it's finally up.
> 
> i'm so sorry for the slow update with this one -- i've been really, badly ill this past month so my health put everything on hold for a while, but as soon as i felt slightly better i felt like i owed you guys an update and here it is. i hope it's not too disappointing asdfghjkl it was so hard to write you have no idea.
> 
> hopefully my health will start to improve more and more and i can get the final chapter of this damned thing up for you guys, so stay tuned for that. i say this EVERY DAMN TIME but thank you again for reading + supporting this fic. it means the absolute world that anyone takes the time to read my silly jumble of words about a pairing in this gift of a group we don't deserve. ♡


	7. seven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dedicated to laina, chloe and alateni for their unbelievable help/suggestions/ideas with this last, lengthy chapter. i love you. thank you ♡

When the news of the failed date with Seokmin reached Jeonghan, Junhui, and Soonyoung the following day, all Minghao could do was sigh and sink deeper into his bed; covers pulled tightly up to his neck, he stared blankly at the ceiling, trying to ignore the constant buzzing of their group chat. An hour passed since waking up, and only when his stomach’s incessant rumbling drove him to get up did he finally pick up his phone and search for something to eat, checking the messages as he did.

 

From: **Han**

 **(8:13)** um what the heck

 **(8:13)** MINGHAO

 **(8:14)** so I went to ask a little birdy by the name of DK this morning how everything went last night

 **(8:15)** only to have him tell me that you are only going to be friends

 **(8:15)** and you didn’t tell me

 

From: **Jun**

 **(8:15)** Told you that you didn’t know him better than I did

 

From: **Han**  

 **(8:16)** sweetie :)

 

Minghao rolled his eyes and blew the messy bed hair away from his face as he skimmed through the hoard of texts, all of which were his friends bickering, and Soonyoung popping in halfway through to announce it was the weekend and he was having a lie in and that everyone needed to shut up right now. Their non-stop texting seemed endless and as Minghao finally reached the bottom of the chat, he ignored the floating bubble beside Jeonghan’s name, telling him he was writing a response.

 

From: **Minghao**

 **(9:40)** I wasn’t going to settle for anyone less than I thought I deserved.

 

The bubble disappeared and the brunette chewed on the inside of his cheek as he remembered what Mingyu had told him a few weeks back. Gritting his teeth, he silently cursed himself and pushed aside the memory as he began to prepare himself breakfast. The smell of egg-fried rice in the morning was usually one that greeted the hungry boy warmly; comforting him whenever he prepared it, but as his thoughts drifted away, the empty feeling in his stomach seemed less like hunger and more like loneliness.

Food plated in a haphazard mess, he grabbed his chopsticks and planted himself carefully on the singular chair in his kitchen, reopening his phone to the new messages. Minghao was backlash from his friends, placing some of the food in his mouth with another sigh.

 

From: **Hosh**

 **(9:42)** NICE OF YOU TO SHOW UP

  

From: **Han**  

 **(9:42)** less than you

 **(9:42)** YOU THOUGHT SEOKMIN WAS LESS THAN YOU DESERVED

 **(9:42)** the .

 **(9:43)** you’re crazy

 

From: **Jun**

 **(9:43)** I actually really thought that last date would be the one

 **(9:43)** sorry Hao

 

From: **Minghao**

 **(9:56)** You remember what you all promised right?

 

From: **Jun**

 **(9:56)** ??

 

From: **Minghao**

 **(9:56)** I went through with all of your dates

 **(9:57)** every single one

 **(9:57)** so just don’t meddle with my love life any more

 **(9:57)** please

 **(9:58)** I’m kind of tired

 

From: **Hosh**

 **(9:58)** we did promise

 

From: **Han**

 **(9:58)** hao we’re just concerned about you

 **(9:58)** are u sure there’s no chance with dk?

 

From: **Jun**  

 **(9:59)** Drop it Jeonghan

 **(9:59)** we promised

 

From: **Jeonghan**

 **(9:59)** FINE fine we promised

 **(10:00)** I won’t pester you about romance or sex or anything in between any more

 

From: **Hosh**

 **(10:00)** yh same here

 **(10:00)** that whole conversation will be OFF LIMITS tomorrow!!

 

From: **Jun**

 **(10:00)** first one to slip up buys drinks :))

 

From: **Minghao**

 **(10:01)** actually I’m going to have to pass on tomorrow’s dinner guys

 **(10:01)** I’ll make it up to you

 **(10:02)** thanks for your help

 

Minghao locked his phone and pushed it away from him before he saw any of the boys’ replies to his cancellation on their sacred group gatherings. His hand knotted subconsciously in his hair as he picked at his cooling food before running it over his face, letting out a groan and a curse in his native tongue.

Why, why, why had be been so stupid to fall for someone that wasn’t one of the many generous and fantastic dates that his friends had willingly set up for him? Why had he been stupid enough to fall into another trap of longing over someone so clearly unavailable and out of his league? When he thought back to all his dates over the past month and a bit, flicking through the memories like a flipbook, Minghao started to question whether the dates really were unsuitable or if it was just him.

Seungkwan had loved music just as much as he did, and really his loud and outgoing (if obnoxious) personality was just him trying to express his adoration for something he was interested in. Jihoon hadn’t really wanted to go on their date, sure, but Minghao considered that if he had kept in contact with the boy, they could have gotten to know each other well enough to maybe give something a go. He could have stopped Seungcheol from ordering his third beer, and maybe once he had heard out the story of his ex, they could have moved on to a different topic—like their love for teaching, leading and helping people through situations. He hadn’t even given Chan a chance, for goodness sake! With Wonwoo, he still felt absolutely awful about letting him down when the boy had opened up to him the way like he had—he was charming and smart, and Minghao could maybe have grown to love him. Seokmin, well, Minghao had tried, but not hard enough. He understood why Jeonghan was in complete shock at the outcome of their second date; especially when the boy had been everything he could possibly want in a partner…

Working made everything a little easier. The three weeks that passed since his final date dragged, but Minghao pushed himself and his students in their classes so that he had something to focus on. His students probably hated him for making their choreography that much more difficult, but dancing until his limbs ached and could breathe out a heavy well done to them at the end of the day was exactly what Minghao needed.

Like they had promised, his friends kept the subject of dating strictly off limits—even Junhui toned it down when he happened to “accidentally” spill that he had gotten the number of a really great guy at a coffee shop. Usually the one to brag and flaunt his achievements in their faces, Minghao appreciated that Junhui only mentioned it in passing before asking what type of takeaway they wanted to order that evening, because he really fancied pizza. 

Still, the brunette noticed a slight change in how his friends acted around him, trying to shake him out of his slump. Junhui seemed to be around at his apartment a lot more than usual, just to catch up even when there was nothing to talk about, and Minghao could sense that he thought he was lonely. Jeonghan decided that calling him up about the most bizarre, random things at any time of the day was a good way to get him talking, even if he didn’t care about the subject matter. And despite wanting to work longer hours, Soonyoung offered to cut some of the brunette’s classes if he felt like he needed time off or that he was overworking himself.

“I’m fine, Soonyoung, really.” He reassured him with a nod, wiping the beads of sweat on his forehead with his naked arm before resting his hands on his sides. Minghao could see the concern flickering in his best friend’s eyes, but without pushing it further, Soonyoung ran a hand through his newly dyed grey hair and nodded. 

“Just let me know if you change your mind, yeah?”

Wash, rinse, repeat.

But despite their best efforts, Minghao couldn’t find it in himself to go back the way he was before any of the blind dating mess started. He knew maybe talking about the real reason behind why he was in such a down mood would release the weight from his chest, but the image of the three of them meddling where they shouldn’t scared him too much to do anything about it. He was completely stuck. 

Minghao sighed as he flicked off the light switch to the dance studio he had been using for the last Wushu lesson of the day, giving the room a final glance over to double check he had tidied everything away before he pulled out the key to lock up. He pulled the towel from where it rested around his neck, shoving it into his bag before making his way down the empty corridors and out of the building for the evening. It was a Tuesday, and it was his designated day to make sure Soonyoung’s Studio was closed. He made sure to shut everything down and lock up the main entrance securely for the evening. Nothing unusual; Minghao heard the familiar sound of his phone ringing in the bag by his feet and frowned.

 _If that’s Jeonghan calling to ask me if I prefer oak, ash or beech wood furniture, I swear_ , Minghao sucked in a deep breath in pre-emptive irritation, before he bent down to retrieve his phone from its resting place. 

The sky was darkening fast in the last few days of autumn, and Minghao shivered a little as he pulled out his cell, hands trembling. He gripped the object tighter, however, when he saw an unusual name flashing at the top of the call, eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. With a tilt of his head, Minghao grabbed his bag, stood back up and answered the call, pressing the phone to his ear. 

“Hey, Minghao. _Wassup_?” 

“ _Yo Josh_.” Minghao forced out his shaky English before he slowly began to make his journey away from his workplace. “Is everything okay?” 

The soft voice of his friend filled his ears. “Yeah, yeah, everything is more than okay. I was ringing to check up on you—see how you are doing, actually.” 

“Did Jeonghan put you up to this because I told him to stop calling me so much? I’m happy to talk to him about stuff, just, not at weird hours and about weird things.” Minghao sighed.

“Actually, no. I wanted to call you myself.” Minghao stopped at a crossing and paused before rushing to the other side of the street. “It’s really unusual, I know and super out of the blue but… I actually have a kind of thing I wanted to run by you.”

“Okay?” he replied, more a confused question than a real demand for him to continue, mind racing with thoughts on what it could possibly be that Jisoo wanted from him at this hour. 

He could hear him take a deep breath, possibly preparing himself for what he was about to say—the whole thing made Minghao even more nervous, palms growing sweaty around the straps of the bag he was clutching tightly. 

“So, Jeonghan told me about everything… with, um, the dates not working out and I know you’re probably feeling really down about it all, but… Minghao, you know that guy I kept trying to get Jeonghan to set you up with? He’s a really good friend of my cousin and I, and I finally got him to agree to go on a date with you—but only if you’re interested! He’s a real sweetheart and he’s been going through a rough patch too lately, and I really think the two of you would hit it off if you wanted to give it a go?”

The speed at which Jisoo rambled out his preposition shocked the brunette, not paying much attention to the route home he was taking as he tried to process what the boy was suggesting.

“A date?” was all Minghao was able to reply, the word tasting bitter on his tongue.

“ _Tsk_ … I knew it was too soon. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“You said he’s really interested in meeting me?”

This time it was Jisoo that hesitated in his response, stuttering. “Y-Yes, of course! I told him a bit about you, and Jeonghan would not stop spouting praises and he immediately agreed. He looked… the happiest I’ve seen him in weeks, actually.” 

Minghao fell silent on the phone as he ran over everything in his mind, sweat from practice now completely dry on his skin, listening to the patter of footsteps on the pavement from his own worn down trainers and the clatter of other shoes nearby. His heartbeat matched the speed at which he strolled, and the aching feeling it had been wearing so uncomfortably the past few weeks like an itchy sweater eased a little; he didn’t know why, especially since his dating life had never brought him anything but discomfort. But, strangely, the brunette trusted Jisoo. His tone of voice was so sincere, and unlike his friends, he knew when to listen and what to say to make best of a situation.

“Okay…” He said before he realised the words had left his mouth. “I’ll do it.”

“Really? You will? That’s fantastic! I’ll let him know to pick you up tomorrow after work.”

“W-what? Tomorrow? Jisoo, I have work tomorrow that runs on until late that I can’t reschedule and—”

Minghao pulled the phone away from his ear, the metal hoop of his earring clattering against it a little before he observed the ended call screen. The picture he had of Jisoo and Jeonghan as the boy’s contact photo vanished to display his black lock screen, and he was left in disbelief. 

Everything was so sudden. He had been expecting at least a few days to prepare (and most likely mentally kick himself, asking why on earth he agreed to more of the same disappointment) before going on a date with this complete stranger. Now, he only had an evening. 

Only when Minghao had stepped foot back in his apartment, tossing his bag aside onto his cheap, threadbare sofa did he realise that Jisoo had never even given him a name.

 

* * *

 

“Great work today everyone,” Minghao clapped his hands as his junior dance class finished their last run-through of the choreography that evening. He beamed at them all, hoping they were all as equally proud of themselves as they were tired; by the looks on their faces and the quick rise and fall of their chests, they were just glad that the lesson was over and done with. “The last section could do with being a bit cleaner, so I’ll figure that out and let you guys know next time. Thank you for all your hard work.”

The class bowed politely and dispersed amongst themselves, boys and girls chatting with one another as they grabbed their bags and water bottles from the edges of the room. Sweat coated their faces and collarbones, leaving the floor slippery from how much Minghao had pushed their bodies to work harder. The brunette grabbed his own bottle in his hand before taking a swig, patting a few of the students on their shoulders as they slowly exited the practice room to head home.

Once the room was empty and Minghao was the only one left, he let out a deep sigh and looked at the clock. Despite receiving no response from him, he had texted Jisoo earlier to let him know what time he finished work so he could pass it onto the mystery guy who would pick him up from outside the studio in… half an hour. Gritting his teeth, he knew he would have to make quick work of cleaning up the space so he had time to shower in the washrooms and change into the set of spare clothes he had brought along with him.

As he retrieved the floor cleaner from the cupboard and began to mop, moving the discarded safety mats to the side and picking up anything that was left around the room, Minghao couldn’t help but go over the choreography he had made in his head. It was a bad habit of his, wanting everything to be absolutely perfect, and he had to perfect it himself before he could help his students carry out the visions he had.

Minghao groaned as he noticed a small red bag in the very corner of the room, beside where the safety mats were kept and he picked it up, making a mental note to put it in the main reception where he knew Tae Kwon could pick it up when he next came for lessons. Placing it by the speaker, Minghao bit his tongue and looked back up at the clock. He still had time to run through the choreography one last time before he got ready, fingers dancing over the buttons on the speaker before they began to play the music.

The first few beats filled the acoustically sound room, and Minghao paced to the middle of the floor, tapping his foot on the laminated ground before he threw himself into the dance. When he was dancing, the music was the only thing on his mind; not some blind date he’d stupidly agreed to, not his worrying friends and certainly not kind bartenders that loved to unwittingly play with and mould his heart at their own will. Minghao executed every move perfectly, pushing himself to include anything he felt added to sharp beat of the dance, making a mental note of it so he could show it to his students later.

The sound of the studio door creaking open was the only thing that pulled him out of his trance-like state, reality rushing back to him all at once as he quickly shuffled over to the speaker to turn off the music and pick up the bag beside it.

“Tae Kwon, this is the third time you’ve left your bag here and I’m starting to think you’re doing it on purpose. It’s bright red! How can you forget it so often—?”

As Minghao looked up in the mirror, the fake irritation he had worn in favour of his student being the one who had returned, vanished. In its place, disbelief and shock painted themselves on his features and he blinked in quick succession in case what he was seeing was just an illusion. 

“Hey.” He hadn’t heard that voice in weeks, and yet, his heart still clenched in his chest hearing it once more.

Minghao remained frozen to the spot as he watched Mingyu carefully close the door behind him and take two steps further into the room, eyes wandering around with a small, fascinated smile on his face. Once again, seeing the boy out of work clothes came as a little bit of a surprise, but when someone looked the way Mingyu did, even dressed in his long grey coat, black shirt and jeans, he could be on the front cover of any top magazine. But that smile, with the stupid upturned corner of his lip and his sharp canine visible, really made his whole look complete. Seeing Mingyu again was like being able to breathe properly for the first time in weeks.

“W-What? Mingyu?” He forced himself to say, willing his voice not to break without much avail. Minghao quickly cleared his throat and grabbed his towel from where it hung on the side, suddenly extremely self conscious about how sweaty and red-faced he looked. “What are you doing here?” 

“Hmm?” The taller boy hummed, eyes trailing back to Minghao’s own as he shoved his hands in his pockets and stopped in the centre of the room. “Oh, a guy named Soonyoung let me in. I said I was here because you promised me a tour way back when.”

Shaking his head, his sweaty hair clung to his skin as he remembered the conversation the pair of them had briefly shared a while back where Mingyu had expressed his interest in seeing Minghao’s workspace. The whole thing had completely slipped his mind, yet his heart raced at an unwanted fast pace in his chest.

“Now’s really not a good time.” The brunette moved to turn off the speaker by the plug socket and gather his own belongings, any excuse not to hold Mingyu’s deep chocolate stare.

“No? Soonyoung said you would just be finishing up and—your dancing! The bit that I saw, well, uh, that was really something. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to be able to dance like you.”

His flustered tone matched with the compliment did nothing to help Minghao as he looked at the clock on the wall. Less than ten minutes before he had to be outside and waiting for his date to pick him up. He didn’t have time for this. Especially not when it was Mingyu and he knew how easily he could be torn apart by something as simple as him complimenting his dancing and— 

“I am finished, but I have to go clean myself up and get changed.” Taking a deep breath, he slung his bag over his shoulder with all of his gear and held the red bag in his hand by his side before turning to Mingyu. “I actually have a date this evening.”

 _Someone up there hates me_ , Minghao concluded as he watched the black haired boy rub his lips together and raise his eyebrows nonchalantly. Those lips he had felt against his own; it felt like centuries ago since that kiss. _Someone definitely hates me_.

“I’m all sweaty from teaching and the dancing you just saw me testing out, so I really don’t have the time to stand here and talk nor show you around. Though, this really is mostly it.” He continued when he received no response, gesturing to the bare essentials that stood neatly packed away from his clean up session. 

“I think you look fantastic.” The words caught him off guard, breath catching in his throat as Minghao began to make his escape. “You may be all sweaty but after seeing you dance like that, you, uh, you’re glowing. It’s nice to see you in your natural work habitat rather than mine.”

Blush crept up his tanned cheeks and branched out down his neck, like roots planting themselves in his skin in all their bright, red glory. His stamina levels and health were all in top condition, so he knew the flush wasn’t still caused by his exercising, and besides, his resting heart rate was way above where it would usually beat at this point. His feet felt like they were trudging through thick mud, making it hard for him to make his so deeply desired quick exit, away from the unbearable torment Mingyu was putting him through by just being there.

And now he had gone and said all those nice things?

“Mingyu, it’s really nice to see you again,” he choked out, staring at the boy briefly through his clumping hair, hoping the blush on his skin was drowned out by the lights overhead. “But I really can’t stay and chat. If you’re quick and you do really want to tour, you might still catch Soonyoung on his way out. He’s the owner and he’s on lock up tonight so—”

Mingyu took a step forward and Minghao swallowed, stopping mid-sentence. He was still quite a few paces away from him, but the brunette worried that if the taller boy got any closer, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from combusting on the spot right then and there.

“You haven’t visited the bar in a little while.” Mingyu’s voice was like honey, coaxing him in like a moth drawn to a flame. “It’s really dull without you there to talk to, actually.” 

“I’ve been busy.”

“How long did you say it would take you to get changed?” 

The sudden change in topic made Minghao frown quizzically, glancing back up at the clock to see he had near five minutes to make himself presentable. This wasn’t going to work. “I shouldn’t take long, but I really have to go.”

“It’s okay. I made the reservation for slightly later anyway.”

Another step closer from Mingyu, and Minghao still didn’t move from his spot halfway to the door. 

“Reservation?”

“For dinner.” Another step put Mingyu only two paces in front of him, and the brunette’s eyes trailed up to meet his, heart beating painfully out of his chest. “With you.” 

It was almost comical, really, how Minghao’s eyes widened and his jaw went slack at a complete loss for words. He’d heard him wrong. That was the only viable explanation: he’d heard what Mingyu had just said, completely and utterly wrong. He’d told him he was getting a kitchen installation that was brand new, or he was testing out some new kind of shampoo. Minghao’s brain felt as if it was short-circuiting, unable to process anything that was happening at that point in time. It didn’t help matters that he could smell the cologne the older boy was wearing from this distance, as if his mind wasn’t hazy and his heart weak enough.

“D-don’t you work on Wednesdays?” He squeaked out, just staring as he watched Mingyu blink confusedly in reaction.

A brilliant chuckle filled Minghao’s ears like a symphony played by the world’s top orchestra and the brunette felt his knees wobble, worried he was about to collapse if Mingyu didn’t just… stop for one moment.

“ _That’s_ what you respond?” Mingyu’s eyes creased a little at the corners, and Minghao couldn’t tear his eyes away from the mole he only now noticed the boy had on the tip of his nose. _Oh god_. 

Everything suddenly clicked in his mind.

“W-Wait, hold on a second. What exactly do you mean dinner with me?”

“As a date. Did Josh not tell you like he said he would?” Minghao shook his head so fast he felt even dizzier than he already did in the presence of this boy. “I never actually got your number to get in touch with you outside of when you came into the bar for your dates, which really upset me because I could never call you or keep in contact with you or anything like that, but when Josh told me the guy he’d been trying to get me to agree to see was actually…” Mingyu licked his lips, his words sincere and eyes locked with Minghao’s in a warm stare. “He’d been trying to set me up on a date with this mystery guy— _you,_ for weeks, but I kept on telling him no because I was hung up on this guy— _also you_ , since the beginning, and I was kinda torn in two because you were going on all these dates that I was helping you through, but never helping myself; if I’d have realised sooner, I would have said yes to him the _second_ time he asked and…”

The sentences all meshed together in Minghao’s brain, words not making sense like they were lost in translation. But that wasn’t the case.

“I-I’m not…. Following.” He tried, hoping Mingyu would slow down and just tell him simply again what he wanted to hear— _had_ wanted to hear for too long.

“Minghao, I’m your date.” 

The world stopped at that moment for Minghao. He stared at Mingyu, who looked so earnest and scared and hopeful all at the same time.

“I thought you were straight.”

It was Mingyu’s turn this time to blink in confusion, shaking his head as he let out a cough fused with a chuckle. He spluttered a reply, rubbing at the back of his neck, looking positively bashful and unfairly adorable. “Sorry… what?" 

Minghao wetted his lips, unsure as to why those words had left his mouth so suddenly. His brain was scrambled and he really wasn’t thinking clearly, but he continued with what he was saying, albeit his heart still refusing to cease it’s banging like a drum against his ribcage. 

“I saw you. I saw you kiss her outside of the bar. Your girlfriend.” 

The memory of the night he had almost plucked up the courage to confront the bartender about their kiss played back in his mind. The scene he remembered of Mingyu and the girl seemed to dissolve before his eyes as he watched the black haired boy process what Minghao said, eyes widening in realisation.

“Saw me… Oh! _OH!_ No, nono _no_. That’s not…” Mingyu cleared his throat, running a hand through his styled hair, messing it up a little with a chuckle and bite of his lip. “That’s my best friend. Josh’s cousin, actually. She’s super… _hands-on_ to say the least? She knows how much I hate it when she kisses me so she always does it. But she’s not my girlfriend.”

 _Deep breath in._ “She’s not your girlfriend…”

“Nope.”

“You’re not straight.”

“Not since the last time I checked, which was about five seconds ago. Never had a girlfriend either.”

It was like he was seeing Mingyu all over again for the first time. His eyes seemed a milkier brown than the deep chocolate he had indulged in before, almost as if they were sparkling in a newfound light; they wrinkled at the corners like someone had made the most delicate final stroke with their paintbrush against canvas to finish their masterpiece. His deep tanned skin was even more radiant with the smile he wore, plush pink lips upturned with the tiniest hint of a dimple in his right cheek, as if his beautiful, white teeth weren’t enough to set Minghao’s heart aflame.

Minghao placed a hand lightly to his forehead, long fingers resting lightly against the sticky skin there. “I feel like… the biggest idiot in the world.”

Mingyu continued to smile, scoffing a little in a playful, light manner. “Don’t sell yourself short, now. The galaxy, _surely_.”

 _He likes me_. The words finally resonated in his mind and his heart, surging through his body with elation. _He likes me. Oh my god, Mingyu likes_ … _me?_ His lips subconsciously curved upwards into a smile, eyes glossy as he continued to just admire the man before him. The man that wanted to date him. _Kim Mingyu wanted to date Xu Minghao!_ He wanted to scream it out into the street at every stranger that passed by, and every car that stopped at the nearest red light. But, he knew he had to control himself, despite his entire body buzzing with a new-born energy he hadn’t felt in all twenty-five years of his life. 

“I should go get changed. For our… date.” Minghao just about managed to get out the final word without bursting out into a fit of nervous, flustered, star struck giggles, containing his excitement and elation as much as he possibly could in front of Mingyu.

The taller boy continued to smile, nodding. “I’ll be here. Take however long you need.” 

“Okay.” He breathed out in a half-whisper, finally managing to feel his feet again. Minghao wiggled his toes a little, willing them to move from where they had been cemented to the floor for the past few minutes. Compared to a mere ten minutes ago when he had been so desperate to leave, he didn’t want to move from the spot now, content to just admire Mingyu up close for the rest of his life. But the promise of what the night held made his heart beat loudly so he could hear it in his ears, and he shuffled quickly to the door of the studio room.

Minghao glanced back a final time to see Mingyu laugh before he slipped out of the room and closed the door behind him. He leant back against the door in the empty hallway, letting himself inhale the deepest breath, filling his lungs. 

The smile on his face was the widest, stupidest grin the world had probably ever seen; just on the other side of the door, Mingyu’s own smile matched the brunettes perfectly.

 

* * *

 

“You see that guy over there?” Mingyu turned his head to listen to his co-worker, MingMing, frowning at him before trying to follow the general direction of his gaze. “How much do you bet he’s going to murder that guy he’s with before the night’s over?”

The bar fairly busy that Friday evening, even if it was still the early hours of his shift and he knew that the amount of customers would pick up as it did every week without fail. Service had been smooth and without any mishaps, meaning he and his colleague had little to do except take a step back and polish the bar top and freshly washed glasses. After a few seconds of scanning the dark interior of his familiar workplace, Mingyu’s eyes landed on whom he presumed MingMing had been referring to, chuckling immediately at the pained look on the boy’s face.

“Yeah, he doesn’t look like he’s having a good time.” Mingyu whipped the towel he had been drying glasses with over his shoulder, turning to place the clean object neatly on the shelf. “I actually made that guy’s drink order: the blonde one with him. He asked for me to make the coke a bit more exciting by putting a cocktail umbrella in it.”

“He looks like he needs help. Maybe you should go over and give him an excuse to leave. I’ve been watching him for a good half hour and he really looks like he needs an escape, poor thing.” 

Looking over to MingMing, the taller of the two raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. “Why can’t you do it?”

He received a smile back from his friend who was making his way down the opposite end of the bar top, toward a group of girls that had finally come to sit there and wait for orders.

“I’m a little preoccupied and you’ve always been better with people than I have!” He called out before sinking into his professional persona, asking what he could get the girls. Mingyu scoffed and rolled his eyes, pulling the towel from his shoulder once more to continue cleaning the counter, but this time his gaze involuntarily moved back to the table the uncomfortable guy was sat at.

His heart clenched a little in his chest. It looked like a date going badly, and unfortunately, he knew all too well how that felt. MingMing was right; even from this distance, he could tell that the boy was dying a little inside from the company he was with, and in his situation Mingyu knew he would have been grateful for anyone to lend him a helping hand. 

Taking a deep breath, Mingyu swallowed and quickly checked the length of the bar top to make sure no one else had appeared or looked as if they were planning to make their way up to order any time soon. Even if they were, he was sure MingMing could handle it for the better part of five minutes as he went over to help this stranger if he needed it.

Mingyu steeled himself, moving out from behind the bar. He rang his hands together in a sudden flustered gesture as he tried to come up with some kind of excuse that would help the guy get away from the table long enough to breathe. He made sure the speed at which he approached the table was slow enough for him to think, but whereas usually he was quick to solve problems, Mingyu was drawing a blank. 

The sudden ringing of a phone near the stage caused an idea to flash suddenly in his mind. The ringtone abruptly ended, but it was all he needed in that moment as he got closer and closer to the brunette and his blonde date, whom was throwing about his hands as he spoke as if he were conducting some kind of orchestra. Yikes.

Clearing his throat once in the hope he didn’t stutter or sound too unbelievable, Mingyu came to a halt in front of the two strangers, looming over them like a tall tree. His presence was apparently all that was needed to get the larger than life boy to quell his talking for a second, and he watched as the blonde glanced curiously up at him.

“Sorry to disturb you.” Mingyu said politely, hands locked behind his back to hide how sweaty his palms were. He hoped MingMing was right about this whole situation; otherwise he might just die of embarrassment then and there on the spot. 

All hopes of the plan sounding sincere melted from his mind when he made eye contact with the brunette before him for the first time. Round, doe eyes stared back at him, and he couldn’t help but find himself lost for a second, suddenly self conscious in his uniform when the boy before him looked so lean and beautiful in the dark surroundings. 

“Are you here to collect our drinks?” The blonde boy raised his eyebrows, looking towards the two empty glasses that sat in front of his company, snapping Mingyu out of his trance. “You can just take the empty glasses, you don’t have to ask.”

Mingyu struggled to hold back a scoff. Apparently he was a servant now, not a bartender.

“Uh, I can clear those away for you,” Mingyu let out an awkward chuckle instead, trying not to let the comment get to him. He shook his head in disbelief at how obnoxious this guy appeared to be, putting on a smile as best as he could before turning to the brunette opposite him. “But I actually came to let you know there’s a call for you out the back.” 

He moved to meet his gaze again, hoping the statement didn’t sound too obscure, and that the boy could see in his eyes that now was his chance to move if needed. The brunette glanced back up at him, Mingyu’s heart skipping a beat as he saw his eyebrows wrinkle in confusion. _Let me help you_ , he thought as the boy fleetingly checked his phone and Mingyu tapped his foot silently on the floor in apprehension.

When the boy nodded and slipped his phone back into his pocket, Mingyu felt like he could breathe again. He mentally patted himself on the back as he saw the brunette rising from his seat to follow him, turning on his heels to lead the boy away from his date who remained seated in the hopes of what he was sure would be a quick return. Mingyu just hoped the time away from the blonde was enough to give the boy a much needed breather, leading him towards the staff corridor without much care about his boss finding him and telling him off for bringing a customer into off-limits sections of the building.

Mingyu didn’t take him that far away, just a little while into the brighter corridor before any of the back rooms opened up, far enough away to not be seen by the customers out front. He stopped fairly suddenly and turned around to face the boy again, swallowing as he prepared himself to reveal the real reason as to why he’d taken him away from his date. God, he hoped he’d done the right thing. 

Squinting a little, Mingyu opened his mouth in an apologetic smile and brought his hand up to nervously rub at the back of his neck which was getting extremely warm—in embarrassment or at how flustered he was from being in the presence of this stranger, he didn’t know. “There’s actually no phone call. No phone call for you, I mean. You just looked like you needed a bit of a breather from the guy you were with—that, or an escape route.” 

When no reply came, Mingyu couldn’t find it in himself to stare at the boy much longer, not when those eyes were making his stomach all fluttery and he had realized his nose was the cutest, roundest shape he had ever laid eyes on. He dipped his head to look at his shoes, bouncing lightly on the spot to give him something to focus on as he wracked his brain for something else—anything else to say to him that would ease this situation they found themselves in. He was a stranger after all, and he had no idea whether or not he actually needed help. God, why had he listened to MingMing? When had anything he had ever suggested been a good idea?

Pulling himself together, Mingyu stopped his nervous jig and trailed his eyes back up to the boy’s, trying not to let his gaze linger on his body as he did. He smiled at the brunette, hopefully to make him feel more at ease before rubbing his (still) sweaty palms together.

“Take a few minutes back here to figure out an excuse if you need. I know the feeling of being stuck with an insufferable date—” Mingyu’s eyes widened, and not wanting to sound rude, he stammered a little in justification and apology. “That is, if it is a date of course. I—I don’t mean to presume—”

“Yeah, it was supposed to be a date. Was it really that obvious it was insufferable?” The brunette interrupted him, and Mingyu froze after hearing his voice for the first time. It was soft, a tad higher than he had expected and there was a hint of an accent there that he could just about pick up on, but with no clue as to where about it would come from. The shapes his lips made as they curled around his words sent his heart beating faster than usual. _Shit,_ Mingyu cursed inwardly, _everything about this guy is cute_. _Stop thinking about his lips!_

Mingyu found himself laughing at the boy’s question without realising, shoulders moving up and down. He couldn’t believe the guy was clueless to the faces he had been pulling when they had been so scary and worrisome. 

He continued to laugh as he explained, “The only reason the guy you were with didn’t realise is because he looked like he was in his own world the entire time. You were, um, looking as if you were about to choke slam him or something. I thought I’d intervene before that happened.” Mingyu leant forward slightly, grinning cheekily in an attempt to make the boy smile. “Save us the paperwork.”

He couldn’t wipe the smile from his face and he didn’t know why, but Mingyu knew he was pushing his limits being back here when MingMing was the only one out the front serving at this time. If his boss came out of the office and he saw he wasn’t there… He didn’t want to think about the scolding he would receive; with his lips still pulled back in a grin, he pointed silently back towards the main bar with a nod and turned to make his way quickly back to work.

Before he could properly set foot back in the main room, Mingyu was halted by a voice calling for him to wait. He paused, hand remaining on the door that concealed the corridor from customers as he turned with his eyebrows raised. He didn’t know what else the boy could possibly have to say to him, but he prepared himself to hear out whatever it was anyway, in favour of remaining in his company that little bit longer.

“Thank you. You really saved me from what could have been a never-ending hell of an evening.”

Mingyu felt his cheeks warming, mood elated as he admired the boy that had thanked him so sincerely. His deep, brown doe eyes were glossy and his smile so genuine that he knew the statement had been from the depths of his heart. Just that thought alone made his stomach flip and his heart flutter, knowing that he had helped someone who had been having such a terrible evening—especially someone as handsome as the brunette that stood before him.

Despite having not stopped smiling the entire time, Mingyu’s toothy grin grew wider and he replied one final time, “No problem.”

Mingyu forced himself to take his leave then, making his way quickly back out to the bar to resume his work. He gave MingMing a quick nod and pat on the back as he passed him, jogging to meet a man who was slumped over near the lager taps wanting a pint of their best bitter. Complying, Mingyu fell back into work mode, pouring a pint with only the slightest nagging of the brunette’s smile playing at the back of his mind.

Service started to pick up, but Mingyu noticed a figure from the corner of his eye a minute or two later making his way out of the corridor, back towards his table. Mingyu tried not to stare as he prepared a cocktail, eyes only flickering up to watch the brunette occasionally.

He ignored the drunken girls trying to make a pass at him as they received their soju cocktails, giving them his best “customer smile” before he collected their money and went to the till to cash it in. He threw one final glance over his shoulder as he did, wondering why he cared so about the stranger and his date situation. He was cute, sure, and he seemed like a genuine guy that appreciated his humour, but aside from that he knew nothing about the boy. So why couldn’t he get his mind off him?

When Mingyu’s eyes landed on the table, he realised that he had been too late to watch how everything was handled. The brunette was already making a speedy exit from the bar, leaving the blonde sat there alone with his (still unfinished) cocktail.

Mingyu licked his lips, unable to hide the disappointment that the brunette hadn’t even looked back.

 

* * *

 

All through dinner at the restaurant Mingyu had reserved a table at (a nice quiet place in the centre of Seoul that Minghao enjoyed very much, might he add), their hands never stopped touching. The night grew older; the two of them grew closer with each passing word and every told secret. They only realised how late it was when a waiter politely informed them that the restaurant was about to close. They laughed at themselves, a little embarrassed that they’d totally lost sense of time in favour of remaining in one another’s company.

They split the bill, paying for the various dishes they had ordered and shared—Minghao had learned that Mingyu hated fermented skate fish (of all things) and ordered some in spite of his whining, laughing as the food was brought to the table and the taller boy immediately grimaced. It only meant that Mingyu ordered naengmyeon noodles for him as punishment, but Minghao hadn’t expected anything less. 

By mutual and silent agreement, once they finally left the restaurant nearing half-eleven that evening, they walked in the direction of Minghao’s apartment, their hands brushing against each other while they walked and quizzed each other in a spontaneous game of twenty questions. Minghao had left his belongings at the dance studio to pick up the next day, and he was grateful now for the ease of walking so close to Mingyu with only his phone and his wallet in his pockets.

“Okay, your turn.” Minghao giggled, pulling his coat tighter around him in the harsh late October air.

Minghao eyed the taller boy from his side, teeth resting lightly on his bottom lip where they had been trying to quell a smile for ten minutes. He caught Mingyu’s eye as he looked over, and the boy laughed, sending Minghao’s heart aflutter for the umpteenth time that evening.

“And you’re sure I can’t ask you about what you want for your birthday?” 

“Is that your question?” Minghao raised an eyebrow, to which he received a groan and a shake of the black-haired boy’s head.

“Okay then. What about… favourite colour?”

“Really?” Minghao scoffed. 

“What?” 

“Favourite colour? What are you, twelve?” A smirk formed on the boys lips accompanied by a roll of his eyes, glancing back at Mingyu who wore an expression of fake hurt, mouth wide open.

“Everyone has a favourite colour!”

The brunette shook his head, earning a bump against his hip that made his body tingle at the contact. “I don’t.”

“Then let me adjust it. Favourite colour… when you were twelve.” Mingyu smiled triumphantly at his quick-wittedness; shivering a little in the breeze that swept past them and pushed his black hair away from his face, framing it like a picture hung at a portrait gallery.

“Technically you just asked two questions so I don’t think—” 

“ _Minghao_.” Mingyu whined and Minghao realised three steps later that the older boy had stopped in his tracks, pouting in protest at the brunette’s stubbornness. God, his lips looked so pouty and kissable and—

“Blue. I think it was blue.” He went along with Mingyu’s game; humouring him in the hopes that he would be able to see the toothy grin he adored so much. He did, as Mingyu beamed once again and shuffled forward quickly with his hands in his pockets to catch up to the brunette’s side. Minghao couldn’t suppress his laugh as Mingyu walked into him, keeping him close like penguins huddling for warmth as they continued down the dark, barely lit road. 

“You know you really didn’t have to walk me home,” Minghao spoke up, and despite the short prior silence he still felt so at ease with the boy by his side. 

“Uh, I think I did. There could be thieves about, or those scary clowns people keep seeing on the news in America—it is almost Halloween!” Mingyu informed him, puffing up his chest in an attempt to make himself look tougher, but all it did was cause Minghao to stare at his chest peeking through his coat and swallow. 

“I think you’re forgetting who here knows martial arts.” The brunette narrowed his eyes, lightly jabbing his fingers suddenly into Mingyu’s stomach to emphasise his point. Mingyu keeled over slightly, not expecting the sudden playful attack to the point it left him slightly winded. Minghao cocked his head to the side and waited for Mingyu to regain his upright stance.

 _You’ve got to be kidding me_ , Minghao thought as he realised the reason Mingyu was taking so long to stand back up to his full height, anticipating the attack that followed from Mingyu, who lunged at the brunette in what appeared to be a bear hug-like grab. Minghao ducked on instinct and grabbed the boy’s forearm tightly, watching as Mingyu’s chocolate eyes widened and he stood there, frozen staring back into his own doe-like ones.

They remained rooted to the spot for a minute or so, watching their breath visibly leave their mouths like steam from an old train in the cold night. Minghao’s heart was beating so fast he could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He also knew that his thin hands were probably freezing to the touch against Mingyu’s skin where the coat had ridden up a little and he’d held him in a block. He loosened his grip slightly before he felt a set of fingers lace with his own almost immediately, watching as Mingyu pulled them towards his pocket and slid both of their entwined hands inside. The brunette swallowed, the only disappointing thing about this moment being that he wasn’t able to admire the way their fingers slotted together, but he could feel they were like lock and key inside of the warmth of Mingyu’s coat which made up for it. 

“Is this okay?” Mingyu asked a moment later, voice slightly higher than usual, letting Minghao know he was nervous. God, he couldn’t get any cuter. 

The brunette nodded in confirmation, watching as Mingyu let out a deep breath with a smile. “Good. Because I’ve kinda been wanting to hold your hand since we left the restaurant.” 

“You should have just asked. My place is only a street away from here.”

“I’ll remember that for next time.”

With a squeeze of Minghao’s hand, they continued along down the street with bashful smiles on their faces. Their hands stayed entwined in Mingyu’s pocket until they came to a halt in front of Minghao’s apartment complex. 

“Can I ask you something?” Minghao stopped, meaning Mingyu followed shortly after, looking up at the building. He knew at that moment that time would pass too fast, and he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to ask what had been on his mind for weeks since the event had occurred.

“It is your turn in Twenty Questions. But of course, anything.” Mingyu nodded, looking down at him with a twinkle in his eyes. 

It took Minghao a moment to compose himself and figure out the words he wanted to say. He was sure he knew half the answer, but he wanted the truth from Mingyu’s mouth, whether it matched what he had been dying to hear or not. 

“That kiss… when you, um, helped me get rid of my date with that law student with glasses? Was it just a ploy, like you said?”

They were standing so close now. If anyone even _slightly_ nudged them they would be pressed chest to chest against one another, and the whole situation had Minghao feeling extremely lightheaded. He just admired Mingyu once again before him as the words filled his ears and his eyes crinkled upwards the same time as the corners of his lips. That mole on his nose was so hard to miss now he knew it was there, even in the darkness of the evening and— 

“I’d been looking for an excuse to kiss you since you first set foot in the bar.” Mingyu dipped his head a little so his eyes were no longer visible, and his sudden bashful state was so endearing it had Minghao blushing a deep pink. But his voice was deep and throaty, and it set a small fire in his lower stomach. “I’m sorry that it was the worst circumstance to do it and that I was kind of an ass after. I didn’t know how you would react. I thought I fucked up. I didn’t know you felt the same way back.” 

“You really had no idea?”

“None at all.” Mingyu licked his lips so they were glistening and plump, nose scrunched up in an apologetic look. Minghao didn’t think he could ever erase that image from his mind, but that was fine by him.

“You know, before you go, I can think of a way you could make it up to me.”

The brunette almost whispered the words and he noticed Mingyu’s eyes flicker down to his lips briefly as he spoke. Minghao regretfully slid his fingers slowly out of Mingyu’s own. He could feel the boy’s fingertips trembling in the pocket, as he wanted to grab back onto the slimmer fingers; instead Mingyu kept his gaze on Minghao’s lips as the brunette stared up at him through his eyelashes. 

“Kiss me.” He said without the lilt in his voice that would make it a question or a plead or anything other than a statement.

Again, they were so close Minghao could feel it when Mingyu’s breath faltered for a moment, catching in his throat as he hesitantly placed his free hand on the small of Minghao’s lower back. 

“I think I can do that,” Mingyu whispered back before bringing his other hand out of his coat to link his fingers around Minghao’s waist. He leant forward slowly and Minghao rose up to meet his lips in a soft kiss. 

As soon as their lips touched, Minghao’s hand laced itself in the thick black locks at the back of Mingyu’s head, just like the first time they had found themselves in this situation. But this time it was better. So, _so_ much better. It began just as gently as their first kiss had: just learning the shape of one another’s slightly ajar mouths. Their lips were slightly chapped despite the moistness of their saliva, but that was the only major difference—aside from the setting of the scene.

Then, Mingyu opened his mouth in a slight breathless gasp, hot against Minghao’s lips and the brunette felt his head spinning in euphoria at the perfectness of the moment. He opened his own lips wider out of reflex, and it was all the encouragement either of them needed, pressing their bodies tighter against each other: Mingyu’s arms still snug and secure and warm around his waist as Minghao’s rested in his hair and at Mingyu’s side. The taller of the two pressed his tongue between Minghao’s lips and he let out a vocal sigh into the night air.

Minghao hated PDA, had never understood why people felt the need to flaunt their love so openly in public in such gross, mushy, affectionate ways. Maybe it was jealousy, he didn’t know. When he had first began dating Hansol, he had always appreciated the fact the boy had never been the touchy-feely type in public. But as the months went on Minghao began to wonder if maybe there was something wrong with him, and deliberated if it was just he that Hansol hadn’t wanted to show his love off with. Now, out in the open (sure, in the dead of night in a deserted, lamp-lit street outside of his apartment building) Minghao felt more loved and shown off to the world by Mingyu than anyone he had ever briefly had a “relationship” with. He still hated PDA, but Minghao was sure that their kiss would have made anyone watching jealous at that moment and he reveled in the thought.

His stomach felt as if it were a furnace, the fire growing from a small flame to a roaring fire as the pair sunk deeper into each other, changing the angle of the kiss so their noses were better placed, tongues entwining hungrily and everything felt so much easier with the slick slide of lips against lips. He could have kissed Mingyu forever, and not asked for anything else in life. 

Everything in the world at that moment narrowed down to just the singular touch of their lips. The sweet pressure Mingyu was applying, Minghao met with just as much force, wanting to engulf himself in everything that the taller boy had to offer. The blood in his veins was pumping so fast and hard around his body it made his head spin, but Mingyu’s kiss kept him both grounded and feeling like he was floating a million miles above the Earth’s surface. Even the slight brush of the boy’s teeth against his lips as they readjusted their positioning stole the breath from his lungs.

They parted eventually when breathing became difficult and Minghao knew if they carried on any longer it could spell trouble for him and his burning desire deep in his gut for Kim Mingyu. The taller boy still had his eyes closed when Minghao tipped his head back slightly to admire him, his mouth was still open, lips swollen and wet and well kissed. God, Minghao wanted nothing more than to lean in again and start all over and invite him inside to do, anything. It seemed Mingyu felt the same, as he slowly peeled back his eyelids, staring into the blacks of each other’s eyes. 

 _Restraint_ , Minghao told himself as he played with the hair at the back of Mingyu’s head, forcing himself to reluctantly untangle his fingers from his locks. Restraint was one of the first things he had been taught when learning to control his body in martial arts, and he was extremely good at it. It had allowed him to control his feelings for this long, and he wasn’t going to give in now. 

“Where’s your phone?” Mingyu asked, voice hoarse and extremely sexy as it caught in his throat, but the question made Minghao furrow his eyebrows together. He looked to and fro from each of Mingyu’s eyes at their close distance before taking the tiniest step back to retrieve his phone from the pocket of his coat. 

He unlocked it on instinct and handed it to the boy who took it in his larger, cold hands. Minghao tilted his head, soft smile painted on his face as he watched the boy pressing his lips together, typing away on his phone. He had never been so in awe of a person, and although the thought still scared him, Minghao loved everything that came along with it. He had never felt happier than in that singular moment right then and there, just observing Mingyu in his own world, lips still tingling from the _new_ best kiss of his entire almost twenty-six years of life.

“Here,” Mingyu said then, holding his phone out for him to take, and Minghao received it gratefully, looking down at what the boy had done. The screen shone a brilliant white, the new contact screen beaming up at him from where it sat encoded into the device. Even with all the excessive hearts and Emojis the boy had added around his own name that he would usually hate, Minghao’s cheeks hurt from smiling so wide.

He pressed at the digits displayed there and watched as his phone began to ring the number, heart still thudding painfully in his chest like it had been the whole evening. He heard the low, muffled chime of a ringtone from Mingyu, who smiled back and retrieved his own phone from the opposite pocket to the one they had held hands in. 

“It’s not a fake number, you know.” He chuckled, pressing the red button on the screen so the call ended and Mingyu put his phone away once more. His lips spread wide into a dazzling smile, one that Minghao knew he would never get tired of seeing, carving out the shape and sharpness of his canines with an overwhelming fondness in his eyes. 

“I was just checking,” Minghao tried to regain some of his composure, realising that all the times he wanted to now call and text and speak to Mingyu, he could. Because he finally had his number like he had been longing after for so long.

“It’s, uh, also only for emergencies.” Mingyu teased, still grinning toothily as he pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, a habit that the brunette had already fallen in love with.

Minghao sighed, dropped his head for a moment, and let out a small giggle before his gaze returned to Mingyu’s. He rolled his eyes and cocked his head to the side. “Like the _Bat Signal_?”

Mingyu stepped forward then and took Minghao’s face softly in his hands, laugh and expression so full of affection and warmth that Minghao could have died then and there and he could have been the happiest man alive—or, well, _dead_.

“Exactly.” 

It was obvious then, that as they sunk back into a deep embrace, smiles pressed against one another as their lips met in another deep kiss, that it was going to be long past midnight before Minghao made any attempt at letting Mingyu leave for home.

 

* * *

 

_Minghao created a New Group_

_Minghao added Han, Hosh, Josh & Jun_

 

From: **Minghao**

 **(6:28)** guys I have some news

 **(6:29)** I think I have a boyfriend

 

From: **Jun**  

 **(6:34)** YOU WHAT

 **(6:34)** YOU

 **(6:34)** HAVE

 **(6:35)** A

 **(6:35)** WHAT

 

 _Hosh changed the Group Name to_ _ㄱ아ㅏㅏㅏ_ _EFJBK_ _ㅏㅏㄱㅅ유ㅗ_ _J_ _ㅓㅏㅜ에ㅓㅣ_ _vhgjbJB_ _ㅏㅜㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㄴ_ _,!!!!_

 

From: **Han**

 **(6:36)** what the hell is with these notifications at this HORRIFIC hour

 **(6:36)** WAIT

 **(6:36)** MINGHA O

 

From: **Hosh**

 **(6:36)** FDAVJHSBMNESNF,!!!

 

From: **Jun**

 **(6:36)** TELL US EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW

 

From: **Hosh**  

 **(6:37)** DFHWGAJKLS!!!!!!

 

From: **Han**

 **(6:37)** XU MINGHAO YOU BETTER REPLY RIGHT NOW I CAN SEE THAT YOU’RE ONLINE

 **(6:37)** XU MINGHAO

 **(6:37)** DON’T YOU DARE IGNORE ME I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE

 

From: **Minghao**

 **(6:40)** :))))))))))))))))))))

 

From: **Josh**

 **(6:45)** I enjoy pizza, if you wanted to send thanks :)

 

♥

 

the end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♡♡
> 
> im kinda at a loss for what to say here because i can't believe it's over. i hope that you all enjoyed the final chapter of what has been quite a journey for both minghao and mingyu, but also me haha. honestly, thank you all for making me smile with all the kudos and comments and just AGH ♡♡♡♡♡♡ i don't know how to express how deep my gratitude is. for the last time here, i hope you're all having the best morning/afternoon/evening. all the love!
> 
> ♡ [@magzineho](http://twitter.com/magzineho)


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